The ending of Tehran season 2 was packed with action! Qasem Mohammadi, one of the most influential men in Iranian politics, was assassinated in his own house; Marjan, a local Mossad agent, was poisoned by Nahid; and Milad, Tamar’s lover, died in a car bombing. Such a dramatic ending guaranteed a third season, and the most pertinent question remains how Tamar will survive now that Mossad as well as the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) are after her. She failed as an agent and was also responsible for Mohammadi’s death, so an escape seems unimaginable.
In episode 1 of Tehran season 3, Tamar is seen fleeing the scene of the car bombing. She didn’t have the time to mourn her lover’s demise, as she was being chased by Amir, a local Mossad agent. He tried to convince Tamar to surrender, hinting that she might get a chance to make it back home. But Tamar had been in this nasty game long enough to know that Amir was bluffing; he’d been instructed to kill. Tamar and Amir got into a scuffle; Amir was almost about to choke Tamar when she noticed his gun lying right next to her. She pulled the trigger on him, and when Yulia tried to contact Amir, she informed her senior that he was dead. Tamar managed to spend the night at a woman’s shelter, but surely that can’t be a permanent solution! So, what was Tamar’s next step? Let’s revisit the highlights of season 3, episode 1.
Spoiler Alert
Who is Eric Peterson?
This season introduces a new character, Eric Peterson, played by Hugh Laurie. Eric is a South African nuclear investigator who strongly believes that Iran is building a nuclear weapon, but he is yet to find proof to confirm his hunch. He and his team have conducted several inspections, but they haven’t found anything concrete to raise a red flag. During one such routine inspection, Eric decided to take a risk. He planted a hidden camera in the nuclear facility. Eric’s colleague, Nico, caught him in the act but chose not to react. Later, after they had left the facility, Nico made it very clear that he expected Eric to remove the camera. Eric mentioned that the camera wasn’t operating, so his plan didn’t really work out. He also believed that this was their only opportunity to find out what the Iranians were up to, because he was well aware that Nico too had an inkling that Iran was in breach of UN Security Council Resolutions. Nico reminded Eric that if the Iranians found out that he had planted a camera on the day Mohammadi was killed, he wouldn’t have been spared. Moreover, Nico stated that they were not spies, and taking such risks wasn’t really a part of their job. He added that they would go back to the facility once again under the pretext of routine inspection, and he expected Eric to take down the camera. Eric is evidently going to be an important character this season. He seems to be in love with an Iranian woman, and perhaps her personal experience with the Islamic regime further convinced him to prove to the world that the Iranian government was in breach.
What leverage did Tamar gather for her protection?
When Tamar ended up at the woman’s shelter, she was helpless. The streets were unsafe for her, not only as a Mossad agent but also as a woman. She lied about escaping from an abusive marriage to spend the night at the shelter. Tamar didn’t know what her next move should be; all this while, Milad had been her reason to keep going, and now she was all alone again. Thankfully, her friend back at the Mossad HQ reached out to her and offered to help her.
Yulia had appointed the ‘Owl’ to execute Tamar, and the only way out of this deadly situation was to find something that could be used as leverage against Yulia. Her friend suggested finding Marjan’s secret files. Yulia had already decided to send her men to the deceased agent’s house to collect every document that they could find in her safe. Tamar had to reach her apartment before the local agents did. At this point she was desperate and ready to make risky moves as long as it could benefit her in some way. Tamar made it to Marjan’s apartment, and with her friend’s help, she found the keys. Tamar felt hopeful when she discovered the therapist’s laptop lying on her desk, but her friend instructed her to also find the dongle, without which Tamar wouldn’t manage to access the files. Tamar finally managed to find the dongle in Marjan’s safe.
On her way out of Marjan’s apartment, Tamar ran into an Iranian investigator who was assigned to look into Marjan’s death. She mistakenly dropped the dongle but managed to convince the man that she was just a regular woman on her way to work. They didn’t think much about it and handed her back the dongle. This particular moment underlines how often the foot soldiers are clueless about who or what they’re dealing with; the information that they have is often not enough to make sense of the complex reality. In case they end up running into their enemy, they might as well apologise and clear the path!
Tamar managed to hack into Marjan’s system, and by the time the Mossad HQ received a warning about a firewall breach and tried to trace the hacker’s location, Tamar had already gathered all the information she needed. She’d gotten access to all of Marjan’s reports. In the latest report that she hadn’t yet sent to Yulia, she’d mentioned that her source had reported top secret nuclear weapon shipments and that Mohammadi was personally involved. Apparently, the shipment would come from ‘PersCargo.’ Marjan had the address of the warehouse, and she’d already staked the place out. Tamar was a little surprised when she discovered that a similar shipment was supposed to arrive that very day. Tamar decided to make it to the warehouse and find out if there was some truth in Marjan’s report.
Are The Iranians Building A Nuclear Weapon?
Tamar infiltrated the warehouse dressed as a cleaning lady. She noticed that a shipment had arrived, and she waited to find out what was in it. Tamar was shocked when she saw parts of a nuclear weapon in the shipment. She secretly took several pictures, and while she could’ve used them to strike a deal with Yulia, Tamar wasn’t sure if that was the right move. She wanted to get access to Mohammadi’s computer just so that she could find out how close they were to assembling the nuclear weapon.
Towards the end of “Tehran” season 3 episode 1, Yulia got a whiff of what Tamar’s friend was up to, and soon after she spoke to Tamar, Yulia confiscated her phone, suggesting that Tamar’s friend would likely be in deep trouble. She had allowed Tamar the chance to negotiate, something that Yulia didn’t want to deal with. For her, Tamar was a dangerous loose end that she desperately wanted to get rid of, but somehow she couldn’t. Considering the courage and conviction that Tamar had demonstrated by taking pictures in the warehouse, it is likely that Yulia would ask her to keep her eyes on the warehouse, and in exchange she would be allowed to live as long as she was useful.
Why did Tamar sneak into Faraz’s apartment?
Tamar needed access to Mohammadi’s computer, and who better to help her than her ex-collaborator, Faraz?! Faraz had a lot on his shoulders; considering he was in charge of security the day the general commander was murdered, he had to explain what went wrong. Moreover, Marjan’s death was being investigated, and while it was believed that she died of a heart attack, the detective suspected that there was more to the story. Faraz assumed that since he was a Mossad expert, he would be asked to share his suggestions to tighten the state’s security, but the new chief, Larijani, wasn’t interested in listening to him. He insulted Faraz by asking him to wait outside the meeting room, suggesting that there were many who didn’t trust Faraz and they made sure that he didn’t participate.
At the end of Tehran season 3 episode 1, when Nahid was alone at home, she heard suspicious sounds; when she went to check, she discovered that Faraz had just returned home. Nahid wasn’t doing well; killing the therapist had resulted in anxiety and panic attacks. She had arrived at the conclusion that she didn’t wish to spend the rest of her life in Iran, and she begged Faraz to let them run away together. Faraz ridiculed her idea; he had no intention of leaving. He was dedicated to his nation, although evidently his reputation was in shambles. He was hopeful that after everything he’d been involved in, he would find a way to prove that he was still loyal to the state. Nahid was disappointed in Faraz, and as soon as she walked away from him, Tamar held her at gunpoint. She’d sneaked into the apartment and had been waiting for the right moment to strike.
The ending of the first episode of Tehran suggests that Faraz will have to, once again, make compromises to protect his wife. Tamar will likely ask him to find Mohammadi’s laptop and hand it over to her. Now that she knows his weakest spot, she will continue to milk him for favors. Considering Faraz has access to government facilities (at least as long as he is not found involved in Mohammadi’s death), she will use him to her advantage and gather information that will leave Yulia with no other choice but to accept her offer and collaborate. Faraz loved his nation, but he evidently is not a fan of Larijani. Does that mean he will do to him what he did to Mohammadi? Will his personal hatred convince him to betray his nation? Or will he stand up to Tamar and find a way to put her behind bars? Faraz’s situation will be tricky. Mossad surely still has incriminating evidence against him that could ruin his life, which means he’ll have no choice but to work for them. Even if he wanted to run away, there wasn’t really any way out. Also, there is no way he can trust Mossad to help him get away! Tehran season 3 has started on a promising note, but will the show manage to keep things exciting until the very last episode? Well, we’ll have to wait and watch!
