Magnitude 5.9 Earthquake in Iran Kills Three

Debris of a collapsed building following an earthquake in Kermanshah province in 2014 (EPA)
Debris of a collapsed building following an earthquake in Kermanshah province in 2014 (EPA)
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Magnitude 5.9 Earthquake in Iran Kills Three

Debris of a collapsed building following an earthquake in Kermanshah province in 2014 (EPA)
Debris of a collapsed building following an earthquake in Kermanshah province in 2014 (EPA)

At least three people were killed and hundreds were injured as a 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck Iran on Saturday night.

The earthquake hit the city of Khoy, West Azerbaijan province, in northwest Iran, around 9:44 p.m. local time, citing the Iranian Seismological Center in Tehran.

"This incident has left 816 injured and three dead," West Azerbaijan governor Mohammad Sadegh Motamedian was quoted as saying by IRNA news agency, revising up an earlier toll of two dead and 580 injured.

Following the quake, Iran's minister of interior and chief of the Red Crescent Society traveled to Khoy.

Iran sits astride the boundaries of several major tectonic plates and experiences frequent seismic activity.

On January 18, a 5.8 quake near Khoy left hundreds injured.

In February 2020, a 5.7-magnitude earthquake that rattled the western village of Habash-e Olya killed at least nine people over the border in neighboring Türkiye.

Iran’s deadliest recorded quake was a 7.4-magnitude tremor in 1990 that killed 40,000 people in the country’s north, injured 300,000, and left half a million homeless.



Russia Slams Report it Backed 'Zero Enrichment' Iran Nuclear Deal

A handout photo made available by the Iranian foreign ministry office shows, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi (R) speaks during a meeting with foreign ambassadors and diplomats to Tehran, in Tehran, Iran, 12 July 2025. EPA/HAMID FOROOTAN / IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY / HANDOUT
A handout photo made available by the Iranian foreign ministry office shows, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi (R) speaks during a meeting with foreign ambassadors and diplomats to Tehran, in Tehran, Iran, 12 July 2025. EPA/HAMID FOROOTAN / IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY / HANDOUT
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Russia Slams Report it Backed 'Zero Enrichment' Iran Nuclear Deal

A handout photo made available by the Iranian foreign ministry office shows, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi (R) speaks during a meeting with foreign ambassadors and diplomats to Tehran, in Tehran, Iran, 12 July 2025. EPA/HAMID FOROOTAN / IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY / HANDOUT
A handout photo made available by the Iranian foreign ministry office shows, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi (R) speaks during a meeting with foreign ambassadors and diplomats to Tehran, in Tehran, Iran, 12 July 2025. EPA/HAMID FOROOTAN / IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY / HANDOUT

Russia's foreign affairs ministry on Sunday described reports claiming that President Vladimir Putin had encouraged his Iranian ally to accept a "zero enrichment" agreement on its nuclear programme as "defamation".

US news outlet Axios reported on Saturday, citing three anonymous sources familiar with the matter, that Putin had "encouraged" Iran to accept a deal with the United States that would prevent the Islamic republic from enriching uranium.

The article "appears to be a new political defamation campaign aimed at exacerbating tensions around Iran's nuclear program", the Russian ministry of foreign affairs said on Sunday.

"Invariably and repeatedly, we have emphasised the necessity of resolving the crisis concerning Iran's nuclear program exclusively through political and diplomatic means, and expressed our willingness to help find mutually acceptable solutions," the statement read.

Publicly, Moscow has defended Tehran's right to use nuclear technology for civilian purposes but in recent months, Putin has also drawn closer to US President Donald Trump.

On June 13, Israel launched an unprecedented attack on Iran, triggering a 12-day war.

The conflict halted negotiations initiated in April between Tehran and Washington to frame Iran's nuclear program in exchange for lifting economic sanctions against Iran.

On June 22, the United States bombed the underground uranium enrichment site at Fordo, south of Tehran, and nuclear facilities in Isfahan and Natanz.

The exact extent of the damage is not known.