Who Is Babat in Lioness? His Iran Connection Explained

Babat is the new captor who takes control of Joe McNamara in Lioness Season 3 Episode 6, Sugar Land, after the Russian-linked side of the kidnapping completes its part of the operation. The episode strongly frames him as part of the Iranian end of the abduction, although nobody explicitly introduces him with a formal Iranian intelligence title. He arrives just after Kyle and Oleksa conclude that Iran is the most plausible country paying for an operation that uses Belarusian contractors and Russian resources, and Babat later speaks Farsi while controlling Joe’s next transfer. The character is played by Kamyar Jahan, who is credited as Babat in Lioness Season 3.

More importantly, Babat changes what Joe’s kidnapping means. Renat and the other operators were primarily concerned with capturing and delivering her, while Babat immediately makes clear that his purpose is much more personal and punitive.

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Is Babat Iranian in Lioness?

Babat is very strongly implied to be Iranian, but Sugar Land stops short of giving viewers a line in which he explicitly states his nationality or intelligence agency. Kyle and Oleksa reach the Iran theory before Babat takes possession of Joe, reasoning that the operation is too reckless and expensive to make sense as a normal Russian mission unless Russia were gaining something significant in return. Oleksa argues that Iran fits because it is willing to pursue revenge after successful operations against it, and she believes Iranian money could easily attract Belarusian contractors without cover careers or regular income. Babat then appears at the receiving end of that same operation and later speaks Farsi, giving the CIA’s theory immediate narrative support.

Speaking Farsi by itself would not prove that Babat is an Iranian government operative, since language and nationality are not the same thing. The surrounding circumstances are what make the connection much stronger, particularly the timing of his arrival and the planned route toward the Middle East. For now, the safest description is that Babat appears to be an Iranian-linked field operative or handler involved in the final stage of Joe’s rendition. The show has not yet identified him as a member of the IRGC, Quds Force or another specific organization, so those more precise labels remain speculation.

How Is Babat Connected to Renat?

Babat and Renat appear to occupy different levels of the kidnapping operation rather than working as equal partners. Shortly before Babat appears, Renat is warned that American teams are closing in and tells the other side that Joe has become their problem, effectively forcing them to collect the prisoner before his position is compromised. The subtitles then show a clear handoff, followed by the statement that Joe is now the other side’s responsibility. That transition strongly supports the idea that Renat’s job was to obtain and transport Joe, while Babat’s side was responsible for what happened after delivery.

Episode 6 makes this distinction important because the CIA has spent much of the season treating the kidnapping as a Russian operation. Oleksa instead explains that Russian safe houses, Belarusian contractors and even a Russian officer could all be available to someone willing to pay enough money. She estimates that abducting a senior CIA officer on American soil and delivering her overseas could be a $50 million to $100 million undertaking, which leads the discussion toward governments capable of financing it. Babat’s arrival therefore looks less like another Russian partner and more like the representative of the client Renat’s network was serving.

Why Does Babat Want Joe?

Babat’s purpose appears to be revenge and propaganda rather than simply obtaining intelligence from Joe. When he finally introduces himself, he tells Joe that he is there to take her to her death and describes a prolonged series of abuses that he intends to inflict before killing her. His language is designed to break Joe psychologically, but it also fits Oleksa’s earlier explanation of why Iran would target her. According to Oleksa, the more successful Joe’s previous operations against Iran were, the stronger Iran’s motivation would be to retaliate in a way that demonstrates strength to its own population.

That makes Joe different from an ordinary hostage. Babat is not behaving as if he intends to quietly question her and eventually exchange her for another prisoner. He talks about making her suffering visible and symbolic, turning a senior American CIA officer into an example of what happens when the United States targets Iran. The brutality is therefore tied to the message he wants her capture to send, not merely to extracting secrets. Sugar Land does not reveal the specific past Iranian operation that created this vendetta, which remains an important unanswered part of the season.

Why Does Babat Torture Joe Before Moving Her?

Babat hurts Joe almost immediately because he wants to establish control before the team changes extraction plans. The CIA has already found and shut down the aircraft intended to carry Joe away, meaning the kidnappers must abandon a carefully prepared route and improvise while American teams are searching nearby. Babat deliberately removes one of Joe’s toes, with recaps identifying it as her pinky toe, before the group prepares to move her again. The act also limits Joe’s mobility, which matters because she has repeatedly tried to resist her captors and remains dangerous even while restrained.

What makes the scene especially revealing is the response from Renat’s side. After Joe screams loudly enough to risk attracting attention, the Russian-linked operator angrily demands that Babat take her away and says his own job was simply to get Joe there. That reaction does not mean Renat has suddenly become sympathetic to Joe, but it does show that Babat’s behavior is creating problems for the people who delivered her. Their priorities are operational security and completing a contract, while Babat seems far more interested in punishment.

Is Babat the Mastermind Behind Joe’s Kidnapping?

Lioness has not confirmed that Babat personally masterminded the entire kidnapping. He clearly has authority once Joe is transferred to his side, but the operation began long before his first appearance and required Russian resources, Belarusian contractors, safe houses, aircraft and enormous financing. The CIA’s Episode 6 theory points toward Iran as the party funding or directing the larger mission, but it does not identify which Iranian official or agency approved it. Babat may therefore be the most dangerous man physically holding Joe without being the person who designed the operation from the beginning.

That difference gives the final episodes another mystery beyond simply locating Joe. Renat’s layer of the operation has now been exposed, the original plane has been shut down and Babat is forced to find another way out of Texas. Joe is still alive, but she is now in the hands of someone who has openly told her that survival is not his final objective. Sugar Land introduces Babat not as another anonymous captor but as the face of the revenge operation the CIA has only just begun to understand.