#8 The Missing Pieces: The Disappearance of Former FBI Agent Robert Levinson - Untangling Espionage, International Intrigue, and a Family's Quest for Justice

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What if the truth about a missing former FBI agent was hidden beneath layers of espionage and international intrigue? Join us on this gripping episode of the Missing Pieces podcast as we unravel the complex and heart-wrenching story of Robert Levinson, a retired FBI agent whose 2007 disappearance on Kish Island, Iran, led to a nearly two-decade-long mystery. This episode delves into the shadowy world of intelligence operations, revealing how Levinson's unauthorized CIA mission went awry, as snippets of grainy footage and haunting images kept hope alive and the quest for answers ongoing.

As we navigate the latest developments, we spotlight the FBI's unprecedented move to publicly name two Iranian intelligence officers allegedly tied to Levinson's case, raising questions about the potential impact on this cold case and whether it could ignite diplomatic pressure. Through this intricate narrative, we explore the enduring pain of Levinson's family, trapped in a limbo of uncertainty and relentless pursuit of justice, and challenge our listeners to contemplate the lengths governments go to shield their secrets, leaving loved ones to grapple with the silence of unresolved truths.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Missing Pieces podcast, where we
dive into stories of people,planes and entire lives that
have vanished without a trace.
These are the stories thatleave behind more questions than
answers, the ones that keepfamilies searching,
investigators guessing and therest of us wondering what really
happened.
Each week, we explore thesedisappearances, piecing together

(00:21):
the details, following thesearch efforts and asking the
difficult questions, becausesomewhere in the silence, in the
unknown, the missing pieces arestill out there waiting to be
found.
Robert Levinson's story is notjust another case of a missing
American overseas.
It's a story tangled inespionage, international

(00:42):
politics, secrecy and deception,a mystery that has stretched on
for nearly two decades.
On March 9, 2007, robertLevinson, a retired FBI agent,
disappeared while visiting KishIsland, iran.
His family was told he was on aprivate business trip looking

(01:04):
into cigarette smugglingoperations, but over the years,
the truth has trickled out infragments.
He wasn't just a businessman.
He wasn't just a retired agent.
He was working for the CIA onan unauthorized mission
gathering intelligence onIranian corruption, and then he
was gone.
For a while there was nothing,just silence.

(01:25):
The US government issuedstatements, iran denied
involvement and Levinson'sfamily was left in limbo waiting
for answers that never cameThen, in 2010, a crack in the
silence.
A video surfaced, grainy footageof a frail Levinson, dressed in
an orange jumpsuit, pleadingfor help.
He looked thin, exhausted, butalive.

(01:48):
The message was clear he wasbeing held somewhere, and
someone had him.
A year later, more evidence Aseries of photographs Levinson,
again in the orange jumpsuit,holding signs written in broken
English.
The words on them read like thecries of a forgotten prisoner
why you cannot help me.

(02:09):
That was the last real proof oflife.
For the next decade, speculationran wild.
Was he being held by theIranian government?
Had he been sold to anothercountry?
Was he still alive?
No one knew for sure.
Then, in 2020, us officialsmade a grim announcement they
believed Levinson had died incaptivity.

(02:29):
No body, no exact details, justa conclusion drawn from
intelligence reports and thepassage of time.
His family, who had foughtrelentlessly for his return, had
to accept that he likely wasn'tcoming home.
But here's the thing turn hadto accept that he likely wasn't
coming home.
But here's the thing this wasn'tthe end.
Not for the FBI, not for the USgovernment, not for those still

(02:51):
searching for the truth,because just a few days ago,
nearly 18 years after Levinsondisappeared, the FBI took
another step.
They released seekinginformation posters for two
senior Iranian intelligenceofficers, mohammad Baseri and
Ahmad Kazai, two names now tiedto Levinson's abduction, two men

(03:12):
who, according to the FBI,played a role in whatever
happened to him.
It's a rare move to nameindividuals so publicly,
especially in a case this old.
It means the US isn't donelooking for answers.
It means there are stillsecrets being kept.
But what does it really meanfor Levinson's case?
Will this lead to anything, oris this just another footnote in

(03:34):
a mystery that has already gonecold?
To understand the significanceof these names, you have to
understand the nature ofespionage, international
kidnappings and the murky worldof intelligence operations.
People like Baseri and Kazaidon't operate in the open.
They don't leave clean trails.
If the FBI has enough topublicly name them, then there's

(03:56):
more information behind thescenes, something they know but
aren't saying.
Maybe it's interceptedcommunications.
Maybe it's intelligence fromsources inside Iran.
Maybe it's interceptedcommunications.
Maybe it's intelligence fromsources inside Iran.
Maybe it's a long-buried pieceof evidence that finally
surfaced.
But why now?
Why release this information in2025, after nearly two decades

(04:17):
of dead ends?
Part of it is pressure.
The Levinson family has neverstopped demanding justice.
His case has been a stain on USintelligence for years, proof
that even someone who served hiscountry for decades can be
abandoned when things go wrong.
The other part is leverage.
Naming these two men could be away to push Iran to force a

(04:39):
response, to apply diplomaticpressure, but the real question
is will it actually leadanywhere?
The truth is, iran has neveradmitted to holding Levinson.
They have repeatedly deniedinvolvement, even when the US
presented evidence that pointedin their direction.
Could these two men, basiri andKazai, be the ones who

(05:01):
orchestrated the cover-up?
Were they acting on orders fromthe highest levels of the
Iranian government?
Or was Levinson's disappearancesomething bigger, something
that spiraled beyond even whatthese men had planned?
And then there's the questionno one wants to ask out loud
what really happened to Levinson.
If he died in captivity, as USofficials now believe, where is

(05:24):
his body?
Why has no evidence of hisdeath been presented?
There is no video.
No, remains no confirmationbeyond classified intelligence
reports.
Without that, without adefinitive answer, there will
always be doubt.
The Levinson case isn't just amissing persons case.
It's a ghost story in the worldof international espionage.

(05:44):
It's proof that people canstill disappear in the modern
world, that entire governmentscan bury secrets so deep they
may never be uncovered.
And it's a reminder that, forthe families left behind, there
is no closure until the truth islaid bare.
The US government is stilloffering a $25 million reward

(06:04):
for information leading toLevinson's location or recovery.
A number that high speaksvolumes.
It means that, despite all thestatements, despite all the
intelligence reports, there isstill something missing,
something they don't have.
So what happens next?
Will these two men, baseri andKazai, ever be held accountable?

(06:26):
Will this case finally get theanswers it deserves, or will
Robert Levinson remain one ofthe most haunting missing
persons cases in modern Americanhistory?
For now, the missing piecesremain just that missing.
But one thing is certainsomeone, somewhere, knows the
truth, and until that truthcomes to light, levinson's story

(06:48):
isn't over yet.