The White House believes former FBI agent Robert Levinson, an American who went missing in Iran eight years ago, is no longer in the country. 

President Barack Obama and his administration have repeatedly pressed Iranians to provide information on Levinson. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the White House believes Levinson is no longer in Iran but will continue to press the Iranians for "as much information as they have about his whereabouts."

Earnest said the White House have been in touch with the Levinson family as recently as December. "We're obviously very sensitive to the concerns of the Levinson family," Earnest said.

Asked if the U.S. government knew if Levinson was alive, he said he did not have an updated assessment.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.