The hunt for truth becomes a fight for survival in the explosive first episode of Tehran Season 3. Immediately following the devastating events of the Season 2 finale, agent Tamar Rabinyan is alone, on the run, and marked for death by her own agency. With no allies and nowhere to hide, her desperate search for leverage leads to a dangerous discovery that could change the geopolitical landscape: photographic evidence that Iran is secretly building a nuclear weapon.
A Spy With No Safe Haven
The episode, now streaming on Apple TV+, picks up moments after the car bombing that killed Tamar’s lover, Milad. There is no time for grief. With Mossad and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) both hunting her, Tamar is forced into immediate survival mode. Her first challenge comes from Amir, a local Mossad operative sent to eliminate her. In a brutal confrontation at a bus depot, Tamar manages to turn the tables, killing Amir in a tense struggle. This act seals her fate with Mossad, confirming she is now a primary target.
With the streets of Tehran unsafe, Tamar finds temporary refuge in a women’s shelter. Using the alias “Sara,” she invents a story about an abusive husband to explain her situation. This brief respite highlights her total isolation. As one recap notes, “Milad had been her emotional North Star, and Tamar is lost without him”. The shelter is not a solution, merely a pause before she must find a way to fight back.
The New Nuclear Investigator
Season 3 introduces a major new character whose mission parallels Tamar’s. Hugh Laurie joins the cast as Eric Peterson, a South African nuclear inspector. Peterson is convinced Iran is violating international agreements and clandestinely developing a nuclear bomb, but lacks concrete proof.
During a tense inspection at the Natanz nuclear facility on the same day General Mohammadi’s death is announced, Peterson takes a colossal risk. He plants a hidden spy camera inside the plant. His colleague, Nico, discovers the act and confronts him later, warning that they are inspectors, not spies, and that getting caught could be fatal. Peterson’s motivations appear driven by a personal connection to an Iranian woman and a deep conviction to expose the truth, setting him on a dangerous collision course with the Iranian regime.
Securing the Ultimate Leverage
Back in Tehran, Tamar receives a covert message from a friend still within Mossad. She learns that the agency’s director, Yulia, has activated a lethal assassin known as “the Owl” to find and kill her. To survive, Tamar needs powerful leverage. Her friend suggests retrieving the secret files of Marjan, the Mossad therapist who was poisoned in Season 2.
Tamar races to Marjan’s apartment ahead of a Mossad cleanup crew. With remote help, she locates a laptop and a crucial encryption dongle hidden in a safe. In a moment of high tension, she accidentally drops the dongle and is stopped by an Iranian investigator. By playing the part of a confused civilian, she retrieves it and escapes without raising suspicion.
The files she decrypts reveal a startling piece of intelligence: an unverified source reported “top secret shipments” of nuclear weapon components, personally overseen by the late General Mohammadi. The shipment is linked to a medical company called PersCargo and is scheduled to arrive at a warehouse south of the city that very day.
Proof in the Warehouse
Disguised as a cleaning woman, Tamar infiltrates the PersCargo warehouse. She hides and watches as a shipment arrives. When the crates are opened, her suspicions are confirmed. Inside are critical components for a nuclear weapon. Tamar secretly uses her phone to photograph the evidence.
This discovery changes everything. She now possesses tangible proof that Iran is actively assembling a nuclear bomb. While this evidence could be her ticket to negotiating with Mossad for her life, Tamar hesitates. She wants more than just proof; she wants to understand the full scope of the program. To do that, she believes she needs access to General Mohammadi’s personal computer.
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A Dangerous Gambit at Home
Meanwhile, Tamar’s old adversary, Faraz Kamali of the IRGC, is struggling. Blamed for the security failure that led to Mohammadi’s assassination, he is sidelined and humiliated by the new security chief, Larijani. At home, his wife Nahid is crumbling under the guilt of murdering Marjan and pleads with Faraz to flee the country with her. Faraz, still loyal to the state, refuses.
It is into this fractured home that Tamar makes her move. In the episode’s final moments, after Nahid walks away from an argument with Faraz, Tamar emerges from hiding. She holds Nahid at gunpoint, putting Faraz in an impossible position once again. This cliffhanger sets the stage for a season where Tamar, armed with her devastating proof, will attempt to force her enemies to serve her cause.
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