Robert Alan Levinson (March 10, 1948 – presumed death before March 25, 2020) was an American former Drug Enforcement Administration (1970–1976) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (1976–1998) agent who disappeared on March 9, 2007, in Kish Island, Iran, while on a mission for the Central Intelligence Agency (1998–2007). Levinson's family received a $2.5 million annuity from the CIA in order to stop a lawsuit revealing details of his work in Iran and to forestall any revelation of details regarding the arrangement between Levinson and the agency. He is believed to have been held captive by the Government of Iran, while Iran does not acknowledge his arrest. According to his family, he suffered from type 1 diabetes, gout, and hypertension. His passport has never shown up in any other country. On March 25, 2020, Levinson's family announced his presumed death on the advisement of the U.S. government, and although the date is unknown, it is assumed that he died while in Iranian custody. Disappearance U.S. officials believed Levinson had been arrested by Iranian intelligence officials to be interrogated and used as a bargaining chip in negotiations with Washington, but as every lead fizzled out and Iran repeatedly denied any involvement in his disappearance, many in the U.S. government believed Levinson was probably dead. He was last seen alive in photographs from April 2011, wearing an orange jumpsuit and holding signs in broken English, apparently written by his captors, asking for help. On December 12, 2013, the Associated Press (AP) reported that their investigations revealed that Levinson indeed had been working for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), contradicting the U.S. government's statement that he was not an employee of the government at the time of his capture; U.S. officials had publicly insisted that Levinson went to Iran as a private investigator, working a cigarette-smuggling case. The AP had first confirmed Levinson's CIA ties in 2010. He was on an unauthorized mission to gather intelligence about the Iranian government for the U.S. government. When his case came to light inside the U.S. government, it produced a serious scandal. Levinson's travel was planned by three CIA officials who did not follow the proper vetting process or seek the necessary approval for the mission from their supervisors. Kish Island in the Persian Gulf is a tourist destination, a stronghold of international organized crime, and a free-trade zone, meaning Americans do not need a visa to