Pakistan defends Amiri as ‘respectable, duly accredited’ envoy

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Wednesday defended Iranian Ambassador Amiri Moghadam, stationed in Islamabad, as ‘a respectable and duly accredited envoy’.

Islamabad rose to Amiri’s defence after the US included him in the FBI’s “most wanted” list over his alleged involvement in the 2007 disappearance of former FBI agent Robert Levinson.

In a statement, Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said Ambassador Moghadam was viewed with respect in Pakistan and was a duly accredited envoy of a neighbouring country.

The statement also recognised the envoy’s important role in promoting Pakistan-Iran bilateral relations, reaffirming Islamabad’s commitment to maintaining friendly ties with Tehran.

“As far as Pakistan is concerned, the ambassador of Iran is widely respected for his role in the promotion of Pakistan-Iran relations,” the FO spokesperson added. “He is entitled to all the privileges, immunities and respect due to an ambassador, that too from a friendly neighbouring country.”

The FBI recently placed Moghadam on its most wanted list, citing his alleged involvement in the abduction, detention, and probable death of Robert Levinson, a retired FBI agent who vanished after travelling to Iran’s Kish Island in 2007.

Levinson has not been publicly seen since, and his family believes he died in Iranian custody, based on US intelligence assessments.

According to the FBI, Moghadam — an official of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security — was among those designated by the US Department of the Treasury in March 2025 for his alleged role in the incident.

The bureau has offered a reward of up to $5 million, while the US State Department’s Rewards for Justice Programme has announced an additional $20 million for information leading to Levinson’s recovery.

The FBI move follows heightened tensions after the 12-day Iran-Israel war, and amid renewed diplomatic manoeuvres over Iran’s nuclear programme.

The US and its European allies have set a de facto deadline of August-end to reach a new nuclear deal with Tehran, failing which they plan to trigger the “snapback” mechanism to reimpose UN sanctions.

Reacting to the FBI’s most wanted list, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Senator Jim Risch said 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.

If no deal is reached by the set 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.

Muhammad Saleh Zaafir adds: The Iranian ambassador is completing two years in Pakistan today (Thursday) as he assumed the diplomatic assignment in Islamabad on July 17, 2023. Iran’s ambassadors are designated in foreign countries for the period of five years.