Iran or US? Pakistan lands in a catch-22 situation as Iranian ambassador Reza Amiri Moghadam is 'most wanted' by FBI
Reza Amiri Moghadam (M).
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the US has named three senior Iranian intelligence officers in connection with the 2007 abduction of retired FBI agent Robert A "Bob" Levinson from Kish Island in Iran, the US federal agency said in a statement. The three men identified are Reza Amiri Moghadam, Taghi Daneshvar and Gholamhossein Mohammadnia. The FBI's Washington Field Office said the trio played key roles in Levinson's kidnapping and in efforts to hide Iran's involvement. Reza Amiri Moghadam, an official of Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security, is wanted for questioning based on his alleged involvement in the abduction, detention, and probable death of retired FBI Special Agent Robert A. Levinson.
Pakistan Link
Reza Amiri Moghadam, now serving as Iran's ambassador to Pakistan, previously led operations for the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS). The FBI says he was in charge of agents in Europe at the time Levinson disappeared, the FBI statement added.
Reza Amiri Moghadam, an official of Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security, is wanted for questioning based on his alleged involvement in the abduction, detention, and probable death of retired FBI Special Agent Robert A. Levinson: https://t.co/3jdNl5splA pic.twitter.com/WHvvTGo7kM — FBI Most Wanted (@FBIMostWanted) July 15, 2025 It is extremely rare for a nation to publicly issue a 'wanted' notice targeting an ambassador of another country, particularly when relations between the involved nations are not openly hostile. Such an action is not only diplomatically provocative but also places both the ambassador and the host country in a deeply awkward position, potentially straining otherwise stable international ties.
In March 2025, the US Treasury Department sanctioned all three officials including Reza Amiri Moghadam.Pakistan Foreign Ministry is yet to make any concrete statement regarding Reza Amiri Moghadam even though Ministry's spokesperson Shafqat Khan has spoken very highly about the Iran's ambassador to Pakistan.Pakistan, which shares border with Iran, has a sizeable Shia even as it is majority Sunni state. Iran is a Shia state but holds influence over the sect's population in Pakistan. However, going by the Islamabad's reactions, it seems that authority in Pakistan does not want to be seen as hostile state in front of President Donald Trump. Thus the Reza Amiri Moghadam issue has become a catch-22 situation for Pakistan. The FBI believes that Iranian intelligence services not only carried out the abduction but also spread false information to escape responsibility.Taghi Daneshvar, who is known by several aliases, is another senior MOIS officer. He reportedly oversaw Mohammad Baseri, an MOIS officer who was sanctioned by the US earlier, during the time Levinson went missing.The third officer, Gholamhossein Mohammadnia, was Iran's ambassador to Albania. He was expelled from the country in 2018 for actions deemed harmful to Albania's national security. The FBI says he tried to shift blame for Levinson's disappearance onto a terrorist group in Pakistan.The FBI is now offering a reward of up to 5 million US dollars for any information that could help locate Levinson or identify those responsible. The US State Department is offering a separate reward of up to 20 million US dollars for information that leads to Levinson's recovery.Levinson retired from the FBI in 1998. He was last seen on Kish Island in March 2007. While Iran has repeatedly denied involvement, US officials maintain that top Iranian intelligence officers planned the abduction and attempted to cover it up using disinformation.
Q1. Who is President of USA?A1. President of USA is Donald Trump.
Q2. Who is Reza Amiri Moghadam - wanted by FBI? A2. Reza Amiri Moghadam, now serving as Iran's ambassador to Pakistan, previously led operations for the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS).
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
36 minutes ago
- Time of India
Cannot run a Republic like this: FBI Dy Director Dan Bongino in cryptic post
US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Deputy Director Dan Bongino vowed to uncover the "truth" in a cryptic post on 'X', proclaiming that "we cannot run a Republic like this." Bongino on Saturday said that FBI Director Kash Patel and he are committed to "stamping out public corruption and the political weaponization of both law enforcement and intelligence operations." Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category Degree Digital Marketing healthcare Data Science MCA MBA Leadership Management others Technology Product Management PGDM Healthcare Artificial Intelligence CXO Operations Management Finance Others Design Thinking Project Management Data Science Data Analytics Public Policy Skills you'll gain: Data-Driven Decision-Making Strategic Leadership and Transformation Global Business Acumen Comprehensive Business Expertise Duration: 2 Years University of Western Australia UWA Global MBA Starts on Jun 28, 2024 Get Details "But what I have learned in the course of our properly predicated and necessary investigations into these aforementioned matters, has shocked me down to my core. We cannot run a Republic like this. I'll never be the same after learning what I've learned," he said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Play War Thunder now for free War Thunder Play Now Undo It is unclear what Bongino was referring to. Bongino, a former Secret Service agent and podcaster, was at the center of the debate over the files related to disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein earlier this month, The Hill reported. Live Events The FBI and Justice Department (DOJ) said in a joint, unsigned memo that Epstein died by suicide in 2019 in prison while awaiting trial and that he did not keep the so-called "client list." Bongino was frustrated with the leaders at the Department of Justice and the handling of the Epstein files earlier in July. He clashed with Attorney General Pam Bondi over the issue and has reportedly weighed resigning from his post, as per The Hill. When Bondi briefed Trump in May on the Justice Department's review of the documents related to the Jeffrey Epstein case , she told him that his name appeared in the files, CNN reported. The conversation, which also included Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, was characterized by two White House officials as a "routine briefing" that covered the scope of the Justice Department's findings. Trump's name appearing in the files, they said, was not the sole focus of the discussions. Bondi also raised in the meeting that several names of high-profile figures were also mentioned, and that investigators did not find evidence of a so-called client list or evidence refuting that Epstein died by suicide, the officials said, as per CNN.
India.com
2 hours ago
- India.com
Israel accuses China of helping Iran to rebuild its ballistic missiles programme, warns Beijing as it says..., its ambassador to US...
New Delhi: There has been a long-standing tension between Israel and Iran. Even though the war between the two countries has stopped, the sharp rhetoric is still going on. Meanwhile, Israel has claimed that China is helping Iran rebuild its ballistic missile program. Israel's ambassador to the US, Dr. Michael Leiter, has warned China that this is a very worrying sign. What did the Israeli ambassador say? The ambassador said, 'While we have succeeded in causing considerable damage to the program, it is now our responsibility to ensure that negative elements, especially China, do not help Iran rebuild it.' He also said that he was referring to reports of chemical precursors for missile fuel being sent from China to Iran, aimed at making the restoration of the missile array possible. The Israel Iran conflict Let us tell you that the war between Israel and Iran escalated significantly last month. The Israeli army targeted Iran's ballistic missile program, including launchers. Iran responded to the Israeli attacks that began on June 13 by firing more than 370 ballistic missiles at Israel in the first four days of the war. When USA and Iran launched attacks on each other The war between the two continued for several days, in which America also entered later. In coordination with Israel, the United States launched a series of strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities: Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. These attacks, part of Operation Midnight Hammer, involved the use of B-2 stealth bombers carrying bunker buster bombs and submarine-launched Tomahawk missiles. The strikes targeted facilities involved in uranium enrichment and nuclear research, with the goal of crippling Iran's nuclear programme. Following these attacks, Iran launched missiles at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar on 23 June 2025, in retaliation for the United States strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities on 22 June as part of the Iran–Israel war. The attack, codenamed Operation Glad Tidings of Victory, followed a 16 June drone attack by Iran on the US consulate in Erbil, Iraq.
Time of India
5 hours ago
- Time of India
'You will be harmed': Israel's defence minister warns Khamenei; asks him not to threaten Israel
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks in a televised speech (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP) Israel's defence minister, Israel Katz, issued a direct and severe warning to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday, threatening "personal harm" if Khamenei continued to threaten the Jewish state. Speaking at the Ramon Air Base, Katz declared, 'I want to send a clear message to the dictator Khamenei: If you continue to threaten Israel, our long arm will once again reach Iran, with even greater force, and this time, it will reach you personally.'' "Do not threaten us, or you will be harmed," he added. The minister, alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, praised the Israeli Air Force for its role in Operation Rising Lion, a military campaign launched on June 13 targeting Iran's nuclear and military infrastructure. "Thank you for the incredible work you did in Operation Rising Lion, when you opened the skies to Tehran, and removed threats of annihilation," he stated. Iran responded with Operation True Promise 3, sparking a 12-day war that ended on June 25, brokered by US President Donald Trump. During the conflict, Trump claimed the US knew Khamenei's whereabouts and even vetoed an Israeli plan to assassinate the Iranian leader. In the aftermath, Katz confirmed that Khamenei had been 'marked' for assassination by Israel but managed to avoid being targeted by going underground.
