ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Wednesday Iranian Ambassador Reza Amiri Moghadam enjoys diplomatic immunity after the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) added him to its most-wanted list over his alleged role in the 2007 abduction of a retired US special agent from Iran’s Kish Island.
The FBI said the release of “Seeking Information” posters featuring the three senior Iranian officials was part of its ongoing investigation into Robert A. “Bob” Levinson’s disappearance and Iran’s alleged efforts to conceal its responsibility.
The other two named individuals are Taghi Daneshvar, identified as a counterespionage officer in Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) and Gholamhossein Mohammadnia, a senior MOIS deputy who served as Iran’s ambassador to Albania before being expelled in 2018.
"As far as Pakistan is concerned the Ambassador of Iran is widely respected for his role in promotion of Pakistan-Iran relations," the foreign office spokesperson, Ambassador Shafqat Ali Khan, told Arab News. "He is entitled to all the privileges, immunities and respect due to an ambassador that too from a friendly neighboring country.”
In a statement issued a day earlier, Steven Jensen, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office, said the three Iranian officials were among those who allegedly facilitated Levinson’s 2007 abduction and the subsequent cover-up.
“Bob likely later perished in captivity far away from his family, friends, and colleagues,” he said.
“The FBI will continue its relentless pursuit to hold anyone involved in his abduction to account for their reprehensible actions,” he added.
According to the FBI, Moghadam, also known as Ahmad Amirinia, led MOIS’s operations unit at the time of Levinson’s abduction. The agency said European-based MOIS agents reported to him in Tehran.
The statement said authorities in Tehran attempted to shift blame for the FBI agent’s abduction onto a militant group operating in Pakistan’s Balochistan region.
The FBI continues to offer a reward of up to $5 million for information that leads to Levinson’s location, recovery and return.
In addition, the US State Department’s Rewards for Justice program is offering up to $20 million for relevant information in the case.
