Robert Alan Levinson (March 10, 1948 – presumed death before March 25, 2020) was an American former Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent who disappeared on March 9, 2007, in Kish Island, Iran, while on a mission for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). 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. In 2017, Levinson became the longest held American hostage in history, surpassing Floyd James Thompson. According to his family, he suffered from type 1 d