WASHINGTON - Washington was waiting for Iran's response Tuesday to a request for information about a retired FBI agent who went missing last month while on a private visit to Iran, the State Department said.
"We don't have confirmation yet that the Swiss have yet handed over the inquiry to the Iranians. So we, therefore, have not heard anything back from the Iranians yet, either," spokesman Sean McCormack said.
Washington sent a request to Iran for information about the man on Monday via the Swiss embassy in Tehran, which represents US interests there because Iran and the United States have not had diplomatic ties in 27 years.
McCormack added that the United States had informally requested that the Swiss authorities ask for an Iranian investigation into the whereabouts of the man, whose identity has not been disclosed.
When the US government received no answer, it decided to write to the Iranian leadership directly, via the Swiss embassy.
"I do know that they (the Swiss) have gotten back to us and said that they don't know his welfare and whereabouts," McCormack said.
McCormack said cases in which an American goes missing in Iran tend to happen two or three times a year, and when it happens Washington usually makes an informal request to the Swiss asking them for information.
He was not able to clarify whether this had been the first time the United States had sent an official letter.
The man has been missing since last month while on a private visit to Iran, US officials said. He is believed to be middle-aged, and was on Kish Island, a free-trade zone off the southern Iranian coast.
According to a senior State Department official, US authorities were informed that the man had disappeared around March 11.
04/03/2007 19:55 GMT