The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has said that authorities in Iran have recently been trying to help locate Robert Levinson, a retired FBI agent who disappeared nine years ago on an Iranian resort island.
"We are encouraged by recent cooperation between the government of Iran and the United States, and believe that our ability to locate Bob and reunite him with his family requires a shared commitment by the Iranian government," the FBI said on March 9 even as the White House urged Iran to keep its promise to help find Levinson.
Iran agreed to provide assistance in his case as part of a prisoner-exchange deal in January.
FBI Director James Comey said his agency was "doing everything in our power to investigate all leads," without elaborating.
Levinson disappeared after flying from Dubai to Kish Island in the Persian Gulf in March 2007.
There he met with Daoud Salahuddin, an American Islamic militant who fled to Iran while facing charges in the murder of an Iranian Embassy official based in Washington.