Iran is one of the most seismically active countries in the world, being crossed by several major faults that cover at least 90% of the country. As a result, earthquakes in Iran occur often and are destructive.

Geology and history The Iranian plateau is subject to most types of tectonic activity, including active folding, faulting and volcanic eruptions. It is well known for its long history of disastrous earthquake activity. Not only have these earthquakes killed thousands, but they have also led to waste of valuable natural resources. Since 1900, at least 126,000 fatalities have resulted from earthquakes in Iran. In addition, the Iranian plate is bordered by the Indian plate (to the southeast), the Eurasian plate (to the north), and the Arabian plate (to the south and west), which is where the Zagros fold and thrust belt (an ancient subduction zone) lies.

Present danger On Sunday, December 28, 2025, Iranian news media reported the occurrence of an earthquake in the northeastern province of Tehran. They also published a report indicating that in the event of a major earthquake in Greater Tehran, 73% of all highways and roads would be damaged beyond repair, making all rescue operations impossible. The reaction of Mehdi Chamran, Chairman of the Tehran City Council: “We hope and pray to God that an earthquake does not occur; otherwise, we will face a major problem.” Parviz Sorouri, Vice Chairman of the Tehran City Council, said: “Tehran is located on active fault lines, and this is undeniable. In the event of a severe earthquake in Tehran, we may face an unprecedented or nearly unprecedented catastrophe in world history.” Recently, Ali Beitollahi, Head of the Engineering Seismology and Seismic Risk Department at the Road, Housing, and Urban Development Research Center, said: “The phenomenon of land subsidence is increasingly developing across Iran and threatens 40 percent of the country’s population.”

Earthquakes Date Province MMI Deaths Injuries Total damage / notes Citations2024-06-18Razavi Khorasan4.9 4120Severe damage2023-03-24West Azerbaijan5.6 VIII165Severe damage2023-01-28West Azerbaijan5.9 VII31,750Widespread damage2023-01-18West Azerbaijan5.7 VI252Severe damage2022-10-05West Azerbaijan5.6 VII1,127Severe damage2022-07-23Hormozgan5.6 VII1Minor damage2022-07-03Gilan4.1 1Minor damage2022-07-01Hormozgan6.0 VII7111Severe damage / doublet2022-06-25Hormozgan5.6 VII1372022-04-23Fars4.4 VI 1Minor damage2022-03-20Fars4.7 VII2Minor damage 2022-03-16Hormozgan5.9 VII2Minor damage 2022-01-23East Azerbaijan4.0 VII12021-11-14Hormozgan6.4 IX298Doublet2020-05-07Tehran 4.6 V2382020-02-23West Azerbaijan 5.8 VII101252019-11-07East Azerbaijan 5.9 VII75842019-07-08Khuzestan 5.6 VII11002018-11-25Kermanshah6.3 VI1761Aftershock2018-08-25Kermanshah6.0 VII3243Aftershock 2017-12-20 Tehran 5.2 VI 2 97 4.0 aftershock: 1 dead, 75 injured 2017-11-12 Kermanshah 7.3 IX 630 8,435 2017-05-13 North Khorasan 5.6 VII 3 370 2017-04-05 Khorasan-e Razavi 6.1 VII 2 34 2017-01-06 Fars 5.0 VI 4 5 2014-08-18 Ilam 6.2 VIII 60–330 2013-11-28 Bushehr 5.6 VII 7 45 2013-04-13 Sistan and Baluchestan 7.7 VIII 35 117 2013-04-09 Bushehr 6.3 VIII 37 850 2012-08-11 East Azerbaijan 6.4 VIII 306 3,037 Doublet 2012-08-11 East Azerbaijan 6.3 Doublet 2011-06-15 Kerman 5.3 2 2010-12-20 Kerman 6.5 IX 11 100 2010-08-27 Semnan 5.8 VII 4 40 800 displaced 2010-07-30 Razavi Khorasan 5.5 VI 274 Severe damage 2008-09-10 Qeshm 5.9 VIII 7 45 2006-03-31 Lorestan 6.1 VIII 63–70+ 1,246–1,418 2005-11-27 Qeshm 5.8 VII 13 100 2005-02-22 Kerman 6.4 VIII 612 1,411 2004-05-28 Māzandarān 6.3 VIII 35 278–400 $15.4 million 2003-12-26 Kerman 6.6 IX 34,000 200,000 45,000–75,600 displaced 2002-06-22 Qazvin 6.3 VIII 261 1,500 1999-11-19 Semnan 5.6 -- -- unknown unknown 1999-03-04 Kerman 6.6 VII 1 517 houses damaged 1998-03-14 Kerman 6.6 VIII 5 50 1997-05-10 South Khorasan 7.3 X 1,567 2,300 1997-02-28 Ardabil 6.1 VIII 1,100 2,600 1997-02-04 North Khorasan 6.5 VIII 100 1,948 1990-06-20 Gilan 7.4 X 35,000–50,000 60,000–105,000 1981-07-28 Kerman 7.1 IX 1,500 1,000 1981-06-11 Kerman 6.6 VIII+ 1,400–3,000 many 1979-11-14 South Khorasan 6.8 VIII 297–440 1978-09-16 South Khorasan 7.4 IX 15,000–25,000 1977-12-19 Kerman 5.9 VII 584–665 1977-04-06 Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari 6.0 VIII 348–366 1977-03-21 Hormozgan 7.0 VIII 152–167 1972-04-10 Fars 6.7 IX 5,374 1,710 1970-07-30 Khorasan 6.4 175450 "Quake Levels Iranian Villages", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 31, 1970, p1 1968-08-31 South Khorasan 7.4 X 15,000 1968-09-01 South Khorasan 6.4 900 1965-02-10 East Azerbaijan 5.1 20 1962-09-01 Qazvin 7.1 IX 12,225 2,776 1960-04-24 Fars 6.0 420 1958-08-16 Hamadan 6.7 132 1957-12-13 Kermanshah 7.1 1,130 1957-07-02 Māzandarān 7.1 1,200 1953-02-12 Semnan 6.6 VIII 800–973 140 1947-08-05 South Khorasan 7.3 500 1932-05-20 Māzandarān 5.4 VIII 1,070 1930-05-07 West Azerbaijan 7.1 IX 1,360–3,000 1929-05-01 Khorasan-e Razavi 7.2 IX 3,257–3,800 1,121 1923-05-25 Khorasan-e Razavi 5.9 VII+ 2,200 More than 7 villages destroyed 1909-01-23 Lorestan 7.3 IX 6,000–8,000 1895-01-17 Khorasan-e Razavi 6.8 VIII 1,000–11,000 1893-11-17 Khorasan-e Razavi 6.6 X 18,000 1872-01-06 North Khorasan 5.6 VII 4,000 1871-12-23 North Khorasan 6.3 VII 2,000 1864-01-17 Kerman VIII Many 1853-05-05 Fars IX 9,000–13,000 1778-12-15 Kashan 6.2 >8,000 1755-06-07 Isfahan 40,000 1727-11-18 East Azerbaijan VIII 77,000 1721-04-26 East Azerbaijan 7.7 VIII–X 8,000–250,000 1679-06-04 Yerevan, Armenia 6.4 –X 7,600 Under Iranian rule at the time 1667-11-25 Shamakhi, Azerbaijan 6.9 X 80,000 Under Iranian rule at the time 1641-02-05 Tabriz, East Azerbaijan 6.8 IX 30,000 Tabriz completely destroyed 1101-??-?? Khorasan-e Razavi 6.5 X 60,000 1042-08-21 East Azerbaijan 7.6 40,000 1008-04-11 Bushehr 6.5 16,000 978-06-17 Bushehr 5.3 2,000 893-03-23 Ardabil 150,000 See also 893 Dvin earthquake 856-12-22 Semnan 7.9 X 200,000 850-07-15 Tehran 45,000 743-??-?? Semnan 7.2 IX 662-04-26 Semnan 40,000 400? BCE Tehran 7.6 Note: Mw = moment magnitude scale, Ms = surface-wave magnitude, and = unknown. The inclusion criteria for adding events are based on WikiProject Earthquakes' notability guideline that was developed for stand alone articles. The principles described also apply to lists. In summary, only damaging, injurious, or deadly events should be recorded.

See also Environmental issues in Iran Geology of Iran Iranian Earthquake Engineering Association (IEEA)

References

Sources

External links Latest earthquakes in Iran and adjacent areas – Iranian Seismological Center