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WASHINGTON (JTA) The FBI says it hasa dedicated team seekingthe return of Robert Levinson, aformer agent who went missing in Iran a decade ago.

The announcement, included in a statement releasedThursday on the 10th anniversary of Levinsons disappearance, is unusual. Over the years, the State Department and the White House have noted the anniversary, but the FBI has not weighed in.

Bob and the entire Levinson family are remembered every day by his FBI friends and colleagues, said the statement. The FBI shares in their anguish and resolve to return their husband, father and grandfather to his family and country.

It concluded: The FBI continues to dedicate a team of agents and analysts who, along with our interagency partners, remain steadfast in our mission to locate Bob and return him home where he belongs.

Robert Levinson, 68, of Coral Springs, Florida, a private investigator and former FBI agent who was also a part-time consultant for the CIA, disappeared onIrans Kish Island during what has since been revealed as a rogue CIA operation.

Also Thursday, the White House reiterated President Donald Trumps pledge, made as a candidate, to bring Levinson home.

The Levinson family has suffered far too much during the last decade due to the absence of Mr. Levinson, a loving father, brother, husband, grandfather and friend to many, the White House said in a statement on Thursday. Each and every day, but especially today, our hearts are with the Levinson family. We will not rest until this case is resolved.

The statement notedthat there is an outstanding $5 million reward for information leading to Levinsons return.

Under President Barack Obama, five Americans were released by Iran in January 2016 in an exchange timed to coincide with the implementation of the nuclear deal struck between Iran and six major powers. Levinson was not one of those released, but the Obama administration, which had brokered the deal, accepted an Iranian pledge to help track his whereabouts and said his return was a top priority.

Iranian tips on Levinsons whereabouts have reportedly led to dead ends.

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FBI: Dedicated team seeking return of Jewish agent missing in Iran - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Iran has dismissed as baseless and hackneyedclaims by the Arab League foreign ministers about the ownership of the three Iranian islands of the Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa in the Persian Gulf.

Irans sovereignty over these islands is an undeniable and eternal reality, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Friday.

He added that such false allegations and statements can never undermineIrans sovereignty over the three islands.

The Iranian spokesperson also rejected as groundless claims about the Islamic Republics interference in the internal affairs of Arab countries.

The Islamic Republic of Iran has never interfered in the internal affairs of any country and feels no need at all for such interference, Qassemi pointed out.

He added that levelingsuch irrelevant charges against Iran has turned into a fruitless effort by some countries at playing a blame game over their domestic issuesand a failed attempt to free themselves from the quagmire that they have put themselves in.

The Iranian spokesman expressed hope that the Arab League would exercise greatervigilanceand focus onthe fundamental objectives behind its establishmentby abstaining from spending undue time and money on rehashing baseless claims.

The islands of the Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa have always been part of Iran historically, the proof of which can be found in and corroborated by countless historical, legal, and geographical documents in Iran and other parts of the world. However, the United Arab Emirates has repeatedly laid baseless claims to the islands.

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Iran's sovereignty over trio islands 'undeniable reality' - Press TV

Toronto Sun

The liberal narrative is in denial about Iran Toronto Sun The war of words coming out of the Islamic Republic of Iran continues to intensify. New video footage of Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan further demonstrates Iran's hostile attitude and intentions towards America and its allies. Speaking with ...

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The liberal narrative is in denial about Iran - Toronto Sun

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (R) and his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif address a joint press conference following their meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Ankara, Turkey, Aug. 12, 2016.(photo byADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Author:Mehmet Cetingulec Posted March 10, 2017

A preferential trade agreement between Turkey and Iran has proved to be a huge disappointment in its first two years, with bilateral trade lagging far behind the $35 billion target the deal was supposed to achieve. The agreement, which took effect Jan. 1, 2015, introduced tariff cuts on about 300 products with a view of tripling the trade volume. The results, however, turned far off the mark, failing to achieve even one-third of the target.

Starting from its first year, the deal led to an awkward outcome: Instead of growing, the trade volume between the two neighbors declined. At the end of 2015, Turkish-Iranian trade stood at $9.76 billion not only $25 billion short of the target, but also $4 billion below the 2014 figure of $13.7 billion.

Thus, hopes had to be extended to 2016, which came with added optimism as international sanctions against Iran were lifted in the wake of its nuclear deal with world powers. While the Iranian market whetted the appetite of global trade giants, Turkey saw itself in a highly favorable position, being an immediate neighbor with tariff cuts already in place. Yet a bigger disappointment was in store. Despite the lifting of sanctions, Turkish-Iranian trade in 2016 turned about $100 million less than the previous year, signaling the collapse of the preferential trade deal in just two years' time.

It is almost impossible not to conclude that serious political issues are snagging economic ties. Chief among them is the two neighbors' diverging policies in the Middle East, especially on Syria and Iraq. As Al-Monitor's Fehim Tastekin noted in February, political tensions between Turkey and Iran, stemming from their regional rivalry, have come to threaten economic ties.

Political discord has undermined the two countries' commerce so much that they seem headed to a point where they will trade only in natural gas and a few other urgent and compulsory items. The trade figures from the past five years offer a clear illustration of that trend.

Remarkably, Turkey and Iran traded more in the years before the preferential trade agreement. The bilateral trade volume had peaked in 2012, reaching $21.9 billion. But as the civil strife in Syria and Iraq flared, the figure began to steadily decline first to $14.6 billion in 2013 and then to 13.7 billion in 2014. To reverse the trend, Ankara and Tehran enacted the preferential trade agreement, which they had negotiated for a whole decade. Yet bilateral tensions over regional policies proved so overwhelming that even the combined trade volumes of 2015 and 2016 $9.76 billion and $9.67 billion, respectively fell short of the $35 billion target set under the agreement, which today seems reduced to a symbolic importance.

The data from the past two years offers small solace for Turkey, indicating that the balance in the shrinking trade has been changing in its favor.

In 2016, Turkish exports to Iran stood at $4.97 billion, up from $3.66 billion the previous year, while imports from Iran, including natural gas, were worth $4.7 billion, down from $6.1 billion in 2015. It was the first time in 16 years that Turkey had a trade surplus vis-a-vis Iran. Though it is a tiny surplus of only about $270 million, the fact that the balance is changing in favor of Turkey is a noteworthy development, the outcome of a steady trend over the past four years.

In 2013, Turkish exports to Iran amounted to $4.2 billion, while imports were worth $10.4 billion, meaning a trade deficit of $6.2 billion. The deficit declined to $5.9 billion in 2014 and $2.4 billion in 2015 before turning to a surplus in 2016.

Yet because of the shrinking trade volume, this rise in exports is no reason to celebrate. Turkey was able to export some $10 billion worth of goods to Iran in 2012, but now this figure has fallen to $4.9 billion despite the lifting of sanctions and booming demand in Iran. The overall picture is pessimistic, with no tangible sign that tripling the trade volume is a target within reach. In February, bilateral tensions forced Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci to cancel a visit to Tehran, where he had been expected to attend a business forum, together with a large number of Turkish entrepreneurs. This development alone undercuts any hope that things could take a turn for the better in 2017, as economic ties remain mired in the shadow of political discord.

Read More: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/03/turkey-iran-trade-deal-collapsed-in-two-years.html

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How Turkey-Iran trade deal collapsed in two years - Al-Monitor

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Irans malignant influence is the most significant threat to Middle East security, according to the top U.S. general in the region.

The Middle East remains a highly unstable region, ripe for continued conflict, Army Gen. Joseph Votel warned the Senate Committee on Armed Services Thursday. Of the multitude of challenges in the region, Iran is the primary concern in the long term, according to the general.

We are also dealing with a range of malign activities perpetrated by Iran and its proxies operating in the region, said Votel. It is my view that Iran poses the greatest long-term threat to stability for this part of the world.

He added that Irans support of the Assad regime in Syria and exploitation of Shia Muslim population centers are parts of its malign influence.

Votels assessment comes after a significant increase in Iranian provocation in the Middle East over the last several months. Iranian naval vessels harass U.S. ships in the Persian Gulf using boat swarm tactics and the regime in Tehran continues its fiery rhetoric against the U.S. and its allies.

Iran has also continued to support various proxy groups across the Middle East, including the Houthi rebellion in Yemen, which is actively engaged against the U.S. and Saudi-supported government. The Popular Mobilization Units, a conglomerate of mostly Shia militia units backed by Iran, continue to play a major role in the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq, allowing Iran to continue to entrench itself in the Iraqi government.

Since Iran cannot strike the U.S. homeland conventionally the way the United States can strike the Iranian homeland with near impunity, Tehran seeks ways to balance the deterrence equation by threatening U.S. interests worldwide through proxy terrorism and asymmetric operations, said J. Matthew McCinnis, a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute who specializes in Iranian strategy, while testifying before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in December.

McInnis added that Iran will likely continue to use proxy groups as a means of deterrence against the U.S., meaning Votel and the U.S. military will likely continue to face an Iranian threat for some time to come.

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Top US General: Iran Poses 'Greatest Long Term Threat' To Middle East Security - Daily Caller