Crackdown targets assassination networks and officials linked to the disappearance of Robert Levinson
The European Union and the United States took coordinated but distinct actions this week to intensify pressure on Iran regime’s intelligence apparatus, accusing Tehran of a sweeping pattern of human rights violations, extraterritorial assassinations, and hostage-taking operations.
On Tuesday, the European Council announced sanctions against eight individuals and one entity under the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime, citing their involvement in serious human rights abuses committed on behalf of Iranian state bodies outside the country. The move comes amid growing international concern over Iran regime’s use of transnational repression and proxy agents to silence critics, dissidents, and journalists worldwide — including within the EU itself.
Among the most significant additions to the sanctions list is the Zindashti Network, a criminal group linked to Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS). The network and its leader, Naji Ibrahim Sharifi-Zindashti — described as a narcotics trafficker and organized crime boss — are accused of carrying out multiple assassinations of Iranian dissidents abroad, including journalist Mas’ud Molavi Vardanjani and GEM TV owner Saeed Karimian.
Five of Zindashti’s known associates, who reportedly aided in these targeted killings, have also been sanctioned: Abdulvahap Kocak, Ali Esfanjani, Ali Kocak, Ekrem Oztunc, and Nihat Asan. Additionally, the Council sanctioned two senior Iranian intelligence officials: Mohammad Ansari, commander of IRGC Quds Force Unit 840, accused of ordering assassinations of journalists, and Reza Hamidiravari, a MOIS officer supervising Zindashti’s overseas operations.
Those sanctioned now face EU-wide asset freezes, travel bans, and prohibitions on the provision of financial resources. The EU reiterated its commitment to standing with the Iranian people and upholding human rights, while signaling readiness to engage with Tehran under conditions of mutual respect.
The Council’s legal actions follow the extension of the Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime framework through December 2026, allowing continued targeting of individuals and groups implicated in grave abuses.
FBI Adds Iranian Officials to Most Wanted List Over Disappearance of Former Agent
In a parallel development, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) added three senior Iranian regime intelligence figures to its Most Wanted list, in connection with the 2007 disappearance of retired FBI agent Robert Levinson — a case long emblematic of Iran’s covert operations against Americans.
The three officials named are Reza Amiri Moghadam, currently serving as Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan; Taghi Daneshvar, identified as an expert in intelligence and counterterrorism; and Gholamhossein Mohammadnia, former Iranian ambassador to Albania. All are linked to the MOIS and are believed to have played roles in Levinson’s abduction and likely death.
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
“These new posters are seeking information related to his kidnapping,” U.S. Senator Jim Risch posted on X, adding, “We will never forget Bob and his family, and we will hold those responsible to account for their crimes.”
Levinson disappeared while on an unauthorized CIA mission to Kish Island in Iran. Despite repeated denials from Tehran, U.S. intelligence agencies believe he died in Iranian custody. In 2020, Levinson’s family declared they had accepted he died while being held by the Iranian regime.
The FBI is already offering a $25 million reward for information leading to the arrest of two other Iranian officials — Mohammad Baseri and Ahmad Khazai — alleged to have orchestrated Levinson’s abduction and detention.
A Pattern of Extraterritorial Abuse
Together, these EU and US measures signal a renewed international effort to confront Iran’s increasingly aggressive intelligence operations abroad — from the use of criminal networks for assassination to the systematic detention of foreign nationals as bargaining chips. Both actions underscore the growing consensus that Iran’s state organs, particularly the MOIS and IRGC, are deeply embedded in networks of transnational repression that threaten global security and human rights.
As the EU and the US deepen their scrutiny of Tehran’s overseas operations, the pressure on the Iranian regime to account for its actions — and end its campaign against dissidents at home and abroad — continues to mount.
