How frequent are earthquakes in Iran?

Iran has a moderate level of seismic activity. Based on data from the past 25 years and our earthquake archive back to 1900, there are about 2,100 quakes on average per year in Iran. However, Iran has had at least 25 quakes above magnitude 7 since 1900, which suggests that larger earthquakes of this size occur infrequently, probably on average approximately every 3 to 7 years.

How many earthquakes occur every year in Iran?

On average, Iran has about 845 quakes of magnitude 3 or higher per year (Mag 4+: 230 quakes per year, Mag 5+: 15.7 quakes per year).

Volcanoes of Iran (15)

Go to: Eruptions FAQ Quakes News

Iran lies at the collission zone between the Eurasian and the Arabian tectonic plate. It has some active intraplate volcanoes, most notably Mt Damavand stratovolcano, which is also the highest mountain of the Middle Eastern region.

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Latest earthquakes: Iran

In the past 7 days, Iran was shaken by 1 quake of magnitude 5.0, 2 quakes between 4.0 and 5.0, 1 quake of magnitude , and 3 quakes between 2.0 and 3.0. There were also 5 quakes below magnitude 2.0 which people don't normally feel.

A Magnitude 3.2 earthquake occurred in Iran: Qasr-E-Shirin, Kermanshah (İran) .

Magnitude 3.2 Earthquake Iran: Qasr-E-Shirin, Kermanshah (İran) -

Date and Time	Mag / Depth	Nearest Volcano / Location
Oct 24, 04:05 am (Tehran)	3.2 7.1 km	376 km (234 mi) S of Sahand	Iran: Qasr-E-Shirin, Kermanshah (İran) I FELT IT	Info
Wednesday, October 22, 2025 GMT (1 quake)
Oct 23, 12:28 am (Tehran)	2.7 6.1 km	101 km (63 mi) SW of unnamed	Turkey-Iran Border Region I FELT IT	Info
Tuesday, October 21, 2025 GMT (2 quakes)
Oct 21, 11:32 am (Tehran)	5.0 10 km	545 km (339 mi) W of Qal'eh Hasan Ali	47 km ENE of Nūrābād, Iran I FELT IT - 2 reports	Info
Oct 21, 07:31 am (Istanbul)	2.7 7 km	190 km (118 mi) W of Sahand	Yüksekova (Hakkari) I FELT IT	Info
Monday, October 20, 2025 GMT (2 quakes)
Oct 20, 09:44 pm (Tehran)	4.5 10 km	566 km (352 mi) W of Qal'eh Hasan Ali	Southern Iran I FELT IT - 1 report	Info
Oct 20, 03:25 pm (Tehran)	4.7 35 km	275 km (171 mi) E of Damavand	Northern Iran I FELT IT	Info

See Recent Quakes

Significant Earthquakes in Iran since 1900

The deadliest earthquake in Iran since 1900 was the magnitude 7.3 earthquake in

Iran, Gilan Province on Jun, 20, 1990. It resulted in 40,000 fatalities and 105,000 injured people. A tsunami was generated by the quake as well and contributed to its desctuctive effects. The height of the tsunami waves reached 2 m (7 ft). This was the 7th worst quake in Iran during recorded history. This was also the most damaging earthquake that occurred in this time: total economic losses were estimated to the equivalent of $7.2 billion US Dollars. 100,000 houses and other buildings were destroyed and an unknown number damaged.

Date	Mag	Region	Deaths	Damage
2003 Dec 26	6.6	Southeastern Bam, Baravat	31,000	very heavy	Info
1997 May 10	7.2	Birjand, Ghaen; Afghanistan	1,728	very heavy	Info
1990 Jun 20	7.3	Rasht, Qazvin, Zanjan, Rudbar, Manjil	40,000	catastrophic	Info
1981 Jul 28	7.0	Se, Kerman	3,000	catastrophic	Info
1981 Jun 11	6.6	Se Golbaft	1,400	moderate	Info
1978 Sep 16	7.4	Tabas	20,000	heavy	Info
1972 Apr 10	6.6	Qir, Karzin, Jahrom, Firuzabad	5,374	very heavy	Info
1968 Aug 31	7.1	Dasht-e-bayaz	10,488	heavy	Info
1962 Sep 1	7.2	Buyin-zara	12,225	heavy	Info
1930 May 6	7.1	Salmas	2,539	very heavy	Info
1923 May 25	6.0	Turbat-haklari	2,200	heavy	Info
1909 Jan 23	7.3	Silakor	5,500	moderate	Info

Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), Global Significant Earthquake Database. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K

All Quakes in History

Map

Oldest quakes (until 1960) are shown in yellow, most recent (from 2000) in red.

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Significant Earthquakes in Iran FAQ

+Which was the deadliest earthquake in Iran since 1900?

The deadliest earthquake in Iran since 1900 was the magnitude 7.3 earthquake in Iran, Gilan Province on Jun, 20, 1990. It resulted in 40,000 fatalities and 105,000 injured people. A tsunami was generated by the quake as well and contributed to its desctuctive effects. The height of the tsunami waves reached 2 m (7 ft). This was the 7th worst quake in Iran during recorded history.

+How many people were killed by earthquakes in Iran since 1900?

Since 1900, at least 146 earthquakes claimed an estimated total of 150,000 fatalities in Iran.

+How much damage did earthquakes cause in Iran since 1900?

There were 210 damaging or deadly quakes during this period that caused economic losses of approx. $14.3 billion US Dollars combined.

Volcano List

Bazman

(stratovolcano 3490 m / 11,450 ft)

Bazman volcano is a stratovolcano in SE Iran, 180 km SSW of the city of Zahedan. The volcano has a well-preserved 500 m wide summit crater with minor fumaroles, which suggest it could be still active. [more info]

Bijar Volcanic Field

(Pyroclastic cone(s) unknown)

[more info]

Damavand

(stratovolcano 5670 m / 18,602 ft)

Conical snow-capped Damavand volcano is the highest volcano in the Middle East. It towers dramatically 70 km to the NE above Iran's capital city of Tehran. Activity at the 5670-m-high stratovolcano has been dominated by lava effusion. Young lava flows erupted from the summit vent blanket the western side of the volcano, and the youngest dated lava flows were erupted about 7000 years ago. Photo by Arad Mojtahedi, 2006 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Damavand_in_winter.jpg)

Damavand volcano is a majestic stratovolcano located 70 km NE of Tehran and 70 km south of the Caspian Sea. Mt Damavand is the highest peak in the Middle East and the second highest volcano in Asia (after Kunlun volcano in Tibet).
Damavand last erupted about 7,300 years ago... [more info]

Dehaj-Meduk

(Volcanic field unknown)

[more info]

East Neh

(Unknown unknown)

[more info]

Gandom Beryan

(Unknown 500 m / 1640 ft)

[more info]

Hormuz Islands

(Submarine volcano unknown depth)

Hormuz island (also known as Organa, or spelled Ormus) in the Strait of Ormus, separating the Persian Gulf from the Indian Ocean is named after the important port town of Hormuz (Ormus) on Iran's mainland 60 km away.
Several catalogs mention that a possible submarine volca... [more info]

Kuh-e Ayyub Ansar

(Lava dome 2506 m / 8222 ft)

[more info]

Qal'eh Hasan Ali

(maars unknown summit elevation)

Qal'eh Hasan Ali volcano is a group of 14 maars about 5,000-50,000 years old in SE Iran. The maars range from 150 to 1200 m in diameter. The largest of the maars Great Crater, 1.2 km wide and 200-300 m deep. [more info]

Sabalan

(stratovolcano 4811 m / 15,784 ft)

Sabalan volcano (Kuhha-ye-Sabalan) is a massive andesitic stratovolcano in NW Iran, 80 km west of Caspian Sea and west of the city of Ardabil.
It is the second highest volcano of Iran (after Damavand volcano) and the highest peak in NW Iran. Sabalan volcano has 7 glaciers c... [more info]

Sahand

(stratovolcano 3707 m / 12,162 ft)

Sahand volcano (also known as Kuh-e-Sahand) is a stratovolcano in NW Iran, about 60 km east of Lake Urmia (Azarbayjan-e Gharbi) and 40 km SSE of Tabriz city.
There are no known historic eruptions, but the volcano is possibly still active and has probably erupted within the... [more info]

Shahsavaran

(Volcanic field unknown)

[more info]

Taftan

(stratovolcano 3940 m / 12,926 ft)

Taftan volcano is a strongly eroded stratovolcano in SE Iran. The andesitic volcano has 2 summits (Narkuh and Matherkuh). Very active sulfur fumaroles are found at the summit of the higher SE cone.
Reports of activity in 1902 and 1993 are uncertain. [more info]

unnamed

(volcanic field unknown summit elevation)

A large young lava field which probably has been active within the past 10,000 years is located in the far NW corner of Iran, near the border with Azerbaijan, about 40 km east of the Iranian city of Maku. [more info]

unnamed

(volcanic field unknown summit elevation)

An unnamed volcanic field is located between Taftan and Bazman citied in SE Iran. It contains very young-looking basaltic lava flows erupted from perfectly preserved cones, located in an area of eroded Cretaceous limestone peaks. [more info]

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