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Pakistan Defends Iran Envoy After FBI Adds Him to Most Wanted List
Pakistan defends Iran’s ambassador after FBI adds him to Most Wanted list over alleged role in ex-FBI agent Levinson’s 2007 disappearance. FO: “He is widely respected and enjoys full diplomatic immunity.”
ND
by News Desk
2025-07-16
Pakistan Defends Iran Envoy After FBI Adds Him to Most Wanted List

Pakistan on Wednesday firmly defended Iran’s ambassador to Islamabad, Reza Amiri Moghadam, after the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) added his name to its Most Wanted list, accusing him of a role in the 2007 disappearance of former FBI agent Robert “Bob” Levinson from Iran’s Kish Island.

In response to international media queries, Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said the Iranian envoy is “widely respected for his role in the promotion of Pakistan-Iran relations.”

“He is entitled to all the privileges, immunities and respect due to an ambassador, that too from a friendly neighbouring country,” Khan said.

The FBI’s move follows the release of new posters naming three senior Iranian intelligence officials, including Moghadam, in connection with what it claims was a state-led abduction and cover-up operation tied to Levinson’s disappearance.

🔹 A Longstanding Cold Case Reignites Tensions

Levinson, who arrived on Iran’s Kish Island on March 8, 2007, vanished the next day under mysterious circumstances. While Tehran has repeatedly denied knowledge of his whereabouts, in 2020, the US government officially declared him “presumed dead in Iranian custody.”

The new FBI poster claims that Moghadam, then a senior operative in Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS), “oversaw the operation that led to Levinson’s abduction and later participated in the cover-up.” Iran has not responded to the latest allegations, though it has consistently maintained that Levinson left the country.

🔹 Pakistan’s Delicate Diplomatic Balancing Act

While Pakistan has not been linked to the case, Moghadam’s current diplomatic status in Islamabad puts the country in a sensitive position amid growing US-Iran tensions.

The US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites in June, coupled with recent arrests of over 100 Iranian nationals in US immigration raids, have further strained relations. Iran’s parliament has since ruled out nuclear talks with Washington until certain preconditions are met.

Despite the FBI’s allegations, Pakistan’s Foreign Office emphasized that Moghadam’s diplomatic immunity stands firm under international law.

“The ambassador’s presence and role in Islamabad remain entirely in line with the norms of international diplomacy,” said Shafqat Ali Khan.

🔹 More Names, More Pressure

Alongside Moghadam, the FBI also named Taghi Daneshvar and Gholamhossein Mohammadnia, both senior MOIS officials. The bureau claims Daneshvar supervised operatives at the time of Levinson’s disappearance, while Mohammadnia allegedly worked to shift the blame to a terrorist group in Balochistan.

US Treasury sanctions were imposed on Moghadam and others in March 2025, but no charges have led to international warrants that would override diplomatic immunity.

🔹 A Complex Web of Allegations

A 2013 Associated Press investigation revealed that Levinson had been sent on a covert CIA mission unauthorized by agency leadership — a revelation that led the US government to pay his family $2.5 million to avoid a lawsuit.

Despite the new FBI disclosures, there is no evidence that Moghadam’s diplomatic status in Pakistan is under reconsideration.

The FBI maintains its investigation is ongoing, and the search for other officials allegedly involved in Levinson’s abduction continues.
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