- The Iranian envoy has helped stimulate Islamabad-Tehran’s ties.
- The FBI lists the ambassador on the disappearance of Levinson.
- The United States is looking for information and provides up to $ 25 million.
Islamabad: Pakistan defended the Iranian ambassador to Pakistan, Reza Amiri Moghadam, following his inclusion in the “most sought -after” list of the US Federal Investigation Bureau Robert Levinson, the former FBI FBI agent Robert Levinson in 2007.
Foreign Office’s spokesman Shafqat Ali Khan, a statement, said on Wednesday that Ambassador Moghadam was with respect to Pakistan and is a duly accredited envoy of a neighboring country.
The declaration also recognized the important role of the envoy in the promotion of bilateral relations of Pakistan-Iran, the reaffirmation of Islamabad’s commitment to maintain friendly links with Tehran.
“With regard to Pakistan, Iran’s ambassador is widely respected for his role in promoting Pakistani-Iranian relations,” added the FO spokesperson. “He is entitled to all privileges, immunities and respect due to an ambassador, who also of a friendly friendly country.”
The FBI recently placed Moghadam on its most sought -after list, citing its alleged involvement in the kidnapping, detention and probable death of Robert Levinson, a retired FBI agent who disappeared after having traveled on the Iranian island of Kish in 2007.
Levinson has not been seen publicly since, and his family thinks that he died in Iranian custody, based on American intelligence assessments.
According to the FBI, Moghadam – an official from the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security – was among those appointed by the US Treasury Department in March 2025 for its alleged role in the incident.
The office offered a reward of up to $ 5 million, while the Rewards for Justice program of the US State Department announced an additional $ 20 million for information leading to the resumption of Levinson.
The FBI move follows increased tensions after the 12-day Iran-Israel war, and in the midst of diplomatic maneuvers renewed on the Iranian nuclear program.
The United States and its European allies have established a de facto deadline at the end of August to conclude a new nuclear agreement with Tehran, failing to whom they plan to trigger the “Snapback” mechanism to reimpose UN sanctions.
Reacting to the most sought after list of the FBI, the president of the Senate foreign relations committee, Jim Risch, said that the FBI “opens the way to Iran responsible for the kidnapping of Bob Levinson, a devoted father and a patriotic American”.
“We will never forget Bob and his family, and we will keep those responsible to report on their crimes,” he said in an article on X.
Washington’s decision occurs following the recent 12-day Iran-Israel war that saw the United States bombing the old nuclear sites.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Foreign Affairs Ministers in France, Germany and the United Kingdom, during a telephone conversation, agreed to fix the end of August as a de facto deadline for concluding a nuclear agreement with Iran.
If no agreement is concluded by this deadline, the three European powers plan to trigger the “Snapback” mechanism which automatically repimacates all the sanctions of the United Nations Security Council which were lifted under the 2015 Iran agreement.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said Tehran hoped to get involved in discussions with the United States, but he was not in a hurry to speak with Iran – who refused to hold nuclear talks if they were conditioned on the country abandoning his uranium enrichment activities.
