Abhiroop Das
Created by Moshe Zonder, ‘Tehran’ brings clandestine operations and intelligence odysseys to the surface through the eyes of Tamar Rabinyan, an undercover Mossad agent stationed in the eponymous capital of Iran. Perpetually abandoned by her own agency in the middle of a conspiracy-torn and hostile environment, Tamar learns to make allies within the system, concocting plans on her own to neutralize the enemy and bring peace to the world. However, her bold maneuvers often have unexpected consequences, and we see one such chain reaction on full display at the end of season 2. While her mission to take out Mohammadi is a success, it comes at the cost of Milad and Marjan, two people she cares about deeply. Season 3 episode 1 of this spy thriller series, titled ‘Radioactive World,’ tackles the aftereffects of this massive shift in the narrative. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Tamar Narrowly Survives Mossad’s Assassins
‘Tehran’ season 3 premiere takes us back to the scene of Mohammadi and then Milad’s assassination, except this time, Tamar is escaping on foot. Having gone rogue, she expected pushback, but Milad’s brutal murder confirms that Mossad has been wanting to get rid of her for quite some time. She is barely able to make it out of immediate danger when she notices a car racing in her direction. The driver turns out to be none other than Amir, a Mossad agent, and although his car gets smashed into by a passerby, that doesn’t stop him from running after his target. After gaining some distance, Tamar tries to outsmart Amir by entering a bus terminal, but he locates her in no time and opens fire, narrowly missing a killing shot numerous times. Still, Tamar manages to sneak up on him and gain the upper hand, finishing things off with a point-blank shot to his face.
Before Tamar can make her escape, however, Amir’s phone rings, revealing none other than Yulia on the other side. A betrayed but determined Tamar declares that the crew will never capture her before burning the evidence and making an escape. Still, with Iraq’s military general now dead, the entire country is in a state of havoc, and Tamar is soon ambushed by a group of ruffians. Luckily for her, help appears to be nearby, and a woman guides her to a shelter. Here, the complete fallout of Tamar’s actions is on display, as while Mohammadi’s villainous reach is now out of the story, there is still a long way to go for genuine emancipation. Elsewhere, Nahid struggles with nightmares, having just murdered Marjan, and Faraz, who is presently at the Revolutionary Guard Corps headquarters, tries to make sense of the general’s murder.
From here, the story jumps back a few hours into the past, introducing a much-awaited new character in the form of Eric Peterson. A United Nations nuclear inspector, Peterson is tasked with searching for signs of nuclear foul play in potential local hideouts, but he is largely frustrated with his job. The idea of alerting companies before a visitation, he believes, is nothing but performative and unlikely to yield any results. However, Peterson has one way to overturn that fate, and the means to it is a secret camera that he plants into a fire alarm. While his partner makes note of this illegal plant, he does not have any time to react, as the news of Mohammadi’s murder means that the entire checkup operation is now on standby.
Tamar’s Friend Inside Mossad Helps Her Hatch an Escape
In the present, Tamar has trouble sleeping, but a glimmer of relief comes in the form of a chess game invitation, which is her means of an encrypted conversation with Talia. The latter is a core agent at the Mossad headquarters, and relays some bad news firsthand. The agency’s most feared agent, named the Owl, has been sent after Tamar, which means that her escape options are truly numbered. Still, there is one possible way to bargain for some time, and that is to gather intel and share it with Mossad. Talia tells Tamar about a therapist’s office that doubles as the agency’s safe deposit, from where she can gather details about Mossad’s upcoming operations, and beat them to it. While all of this brings huge amounts of risks for Talia, she is willing to go all in for her friend.
The following day, Faraz is tasked with breaking the bad news to Peterson that his entire operation is temporarily suspended. Expectedly, the ornery nuclear inspector does not take this news well and reminds the Guard Corps that the examinations are UN-mandated. There is a deeper, more personal reason for his impatience, however, as deep down he realizes that the team needs to leave Iran as soon as possible, but they can’t do that without retrieving the hidden camera. Still, with Faraz refusing to budge even an inch, that will have to wait. Elsewhere, Tamar sneaks out of the shelter and finds the psychiatrist’s office, skillfully entering to avoid any suspicion. Once there, she gets on a phone call with Talia, who guides her to the safe box containing Marjan’s laptop and drive. Although their cover is nearly blown when the drive briefly slips out of Tamar’s hand, the operation is ultimately a success.
Iran’s Nuclear Arms Plan is Unearthed at Last
While Tamar manages to reenter the shelter without any followers, she is caught by the leader, who helped her the previous night. So far, Tamar has gone ahead with the lie that she has escaped domestic troubles, but the shelter’s leader understands that there is something bigger going on, and subtly indicates to Tamar to leave the innocent people out of trouble. Understanding the cue, Tamar makes her exit, but not before loading the drive’s contents on her laptop and breaking in. While Mossad is immediately alerted to this break-in, there is a brief window before they can actually track down Tamar. Within that timespan, she manages to fish out the coordinates of a nuclear exchange that is seemingly taking place under the cover of a medical shipment, and decides to pay the place a visit.
Elsewhere, Faraz sits at a round table meeting with the Iranian higher-ups, meant to decide on the next course of leadership. Predictably, his second-in-command and more sinister counterpart, Larijani, assumes leadership, but he is quick to dismiss Faraz’s idea to restart the nuclear inspections. Not far from the headquarters, we see why, as Tamar closes in on a clandestine shipment. Although she is almost caught after making a noise, the seasoned spy manages to cover her tracks well enough and watches the entire uranium deal unfold in real time. She even manages to get some pictures in, hoping that it’s enough fuel to grant her reentry into the system. Unbeknownst to her, however, Talia is intercepted by the Mossad, with Yulia having found her chess-game chat history.
Although it remains to be seen whether Talia will be punished by death or simply detained till Tamar reinitiates contact, the facts she has unearthed are nonetheless game-changing. Still, Tamar has other plans for the night, as instead of talking to the Mossad, she makes her way back to Tehran’s center. That night, Nahid and Faraz enter a brief argument, as neither of them has adequately discussed the elephant in the room that is Marjan’s murder. Unfortunately for them, Tamar is right there in the room, hiding, and quickly sneaks up behind Nahid, before holding her at gunpoint. From here, the scene can go either way, as both revenge and negotiation are equally viable tactics going forward.
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