- Moghadam accused of abducting FBI agent Robert Levinson.
- Levinson missing after travelling to Iran’s Kish Island in 2007.
- FBI agent’s family believes that he died in Iranian custody.
Iranian Ambassador to Pakistan Reza Amiri Moghadam has been named in the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) “most wanted” list over his alleged role in the abduction, detention, and probable death of retired FBI special agent Robert A Levinson and alleged efforts to cover up its responsibility.
The US has sought information on Moghadam, who as per the FBI is an official of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security.
According to the FBI, Levinson — who retired from the FBI in 1998 and worked as a private investigator — travelled to Iran’s Kish Island, Iran, on March 8, 2007, and has not been publicly seen or heard from since his disappearance the following day.
In 2010 and 2011, a video and photographs were obtained showing Levinson in captivity.
In March of 2025, the US Department of the Treasury designated Moghadam and others for their involvement in the abduction, detention, and probable death. The FBI has since then continued its investigation in order to identify more Iranian officials allegedly involved in Levinson’s abduction.
The FBI is offering a reward of up to $5 million and the Rewards For Justice Program of the US Department of State is offering a reward of up to $20 million for information leading directly to the location, recovery, and return of their retired employee.
As per Iran International, Levinson’s family back in 2020, released a statement saying they had concluded, based on information provided by US officials, that he had died while in Iranian custody.
Reacting to the FBI’s most wanted list, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Senator Jim Risch said that the FBI “is leading the way on holding Iran accountable for the abduction of Bob Levinson, a devoted father and patriotic American”.
“We will never forget Bob and his family, and we will hold those responsible to account for their crimes,” he said in a post on X.
Washington’s move comes in the aftermath of the recent 12-day Iran-Israel war that saw the US bombing the former’s nuclear sites.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the foreign ministers of France, Germany and the UK, during a telephonic conversation, have agreed to set the end of August as the de facto deadline for reaching a nuclear deal with Iran.
If no deal is reached by that deadline, the three European powers plan to trigger the “snapback” mechanism that automatically reimposes all UN Security Council sanctions that were lifted under the 2015 Iran deal.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has said that Tehran was hoping to engage in discussions with the US, but he was in no rush to talk with Iran — which has refused to hold nuclear talks if they were conditioned on the country abandoning its uranium enrichment activities.
