Christine Levinson (R), wife of former FBI agent Robert Levinson, watches as her son, Daniel Levinson, displays a web print of his father’s picture to journalists, while attending a news conference, at the Swiss Embassy in Tehran, Iran, Dec. 22, 2007. Photo: Reuters / Morteza Nikoubazl.

The Washington field office of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday released posters seeking information about two senior Iranian intelligence officers allegedly involved in the disappearance of retired FBI Special Agent Robert Levinson.

The two men — Mohammed Baseri and Ahmad Khazai — have been accused of authorizing the 2007 abduction of Levinson

“The FBI remains steadfast in our commitment to return Bob to his family,” Sanjay Virmani, special agent of the FBI Washington field office’s Counterterrorism Division, said in a statement. “Our extensive investigation continues to develop new leads and intelligence, and we will pursue all options to hold every Iranian official involved in his abduction accountable.”

Levinson was working as a private investigator in 2007 when he vanished after traveling to Iran’s Kish Island. He was reportedly involved in an unauthorized CIA mission at the time. The US has maintained that he was kidnapped and held wrongfully by the Iranian government. Levinson was thought to be alive for several years. In 2020, however, US officials said that intelligence suggested he may have been dead for “some time.”

At the time of Levinson’s kidnapping, both Baseri and Khazai were operating as members of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS), according to US authorities.

“For nearly 18 years, the Iranian government has denied knowledge of Bob’s whereabouts despite senior intelligence officials authorizing Bob’s abduction and detention and launching a disinformation campaign to deflect blame from the Iranian regime,” the FBI said in its statement.

FBI renewing effort to find retired special agent abducted in Iran almost 18 years ago

The Washington Field Office is seeking 2 Iranian intelligence officers – Mohammad Baseri and Ahmad Khazai – involved in the kidnapping, detention and probable death of Bob Levinson pic.twitter.com/kH36EtgIEZ

— Jeff Seldin (@jseldin) February 4, 2025

In December 2020, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Baseri and Khazai for their role in Levinson’s abduction.

According to the designation Baseri is a senior MOIS official who has participated in critical investigations regarding Iranian national security concerns. Baseri also conducts counterespionage operations both inside and outside Iran, the Treasury Department said, and has collaborated directly with foreign intelligence services to undermine US interests.

Meanwhile, Khazai has overseen MOIS trips to foreign nations to evaluate the security situation, according to the Treasury Department’s designation.

Although Iran has previously denied any knowledge of Levinson’s whereabouts and involvement in his abduction, it is widely believed that the Iranian government held Levinson captive to be used as leverage in negotiations with the United States.

In March 2024, former FBI Director Christopher Wray issued a statement honoring Levinson’s service. 

“It has been 17 years since Bob disappeared in Iranian territory, but no matter how much time has passed, the FBI and our partners will pursue every lead to uncover what happened to Bob and return him to his family,” Wray said. “I’m grateful that our nation continues to remember Bob, with March 9 commemorating National Hostage and Wrongful Detainee Day — a day for our entire nation to pause and remember Bob and all Americans unjustly held abroad.”

Iran has an extensive history of attempting to kidnap Americans. In 2021, for example, the US Justice Department announced charges against Iranian intelligence agents for plotting to kidnap an American citizen and Iranian dissident, journalist Masih Alinejad, in the US and take her by boat to Venezuela before forcibly returning her to Iran, where she was born.

The FBI has continued to offer a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to Levinson’s location, recovery, and return.