The White House says an American who went missing in Iran nearly seven years ago was not working for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
On December 12, U.S. news reports said the missing man, retired FBI agent Robert Levinson, was being paid as a contractor by the CIA to gather intelligence.
"Bob Levinson was not a U.S. government employee when he went missing in Iran," White House spokesman Jay Carney said on December 13.
"As there is an ongoing investigation into his disappearance, I am not going to comment further on what he may or may not have been doing in Iran.”
The U.S. government has repeatedly said Levinson was on a private trip when he disappeared on Iran’s Kish Island in 2007.
On December 12, U.S. news reports said the missing man, retired FBI agent Robert Levinson, was being paid as a contractor by the CIA to gather intelligence.
"Bob Levinson was not a U.S. government employee when he went missing in Iran," White House spokesman Jay Carney said on December 13.
"As there is an ongoing investigation into his disappearance, I am not going to comment further on what he may or may not have been doing in Iran.”
The U.S. government has repeatedly said Levinson was on a private trip when he disappeared on Iran’s Kish Island in 2007.