Central Iran shaken by powerful tremor 210km from capital as week-long missile war with Israel intensifies
A powerful 5.2 magnitude earthquake has struck Central Iran tonight as Israeli forces continue their relentless bombing campaign against Tehran, adding to the chaos engulfing the Islamic Republic.
The quake’s epicentre was just outside the city of Semnan, around 210km east of the capital, with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) confirming the tremor struck at approximately 9:19 pm local time.
At 35 meters of depth, the quake is regarded as shallow, raising fears of significant damage in the region that houses critical military installations.
Terror Beneath The Ground
The earthquake comes at a catastrophic time for Iran, which has been under sustained Israeli attack since last Friday. It comes as the two countries have been exchanging missile fire over the last week.
The Semnan region is particularly significant as it is home to Iran’s Semnan Missile Complex and Missile Centre, making the timing of this natural disaster especially concerning for Tehran’s military capabilities.
The depth of the quake is unknown according to some reports, though indicating a relatively shallow tremor that could possibly cause major damage.
Death Toll Mounts
The earthquake strikes as Iran reels from devastating Israeli attacks that have decimated its military leadership. Israeli air attacks have killed 639 people in Iran, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency, a US-based human rights organisation that tracks Iran.
The dead include the military’s top echelon and nuclear scientists, with more than 200 Iranian civilians among the casualties according to both Iranian and international sources.
Nuclear Fears Intensify
The earthquake occurred just hours after urgent warnings from the UN about attacks on nuclear facilities. Director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, told the UN Security Council: “Armed attack on nuclear facilities… could result in radioactive releases with great consequences within and beyond the boundaries of the state which has been attacked.”
Israeli forces have reportedly struck near Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant, though military officials later claimed this was “a mistake” to announce. Iran said on Friday its air defences had been activated in Bushehr, without elaborating.
Week of Destruction
The earthquake marks the latest blow to Iran in what has been a catastrophic week:
- Israel launched a surprise attack targeting key military and nuclear facilities on June 13
- Several of Iran’s military leaders, leaders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), at least ten leading nuclear scientists have been killed
- Israel said it had attacked more than 150 targets
- Iranian oil and gas facilities have been struck for the first time
Regional Instability
This is not the first seismic event to strike Iran recently. On May 28, an earthquake of magnitude 5.5 struck the southern Iran region at a depth of 27 kilometers.
The timing of tonight’s earthquake, occurring during active military operations, has raised questions about the potential impact on both civilian populations and military installations in the affected area.
Diplomatic Deadlock
As the ground shook in Semnan, diplomatic efforts remained frozen. A senior Iranian official told Reuters Iran was ready to discuss limitations on uranium enrichment but that any proposal for zero enrichment, not being able to enrich uranium at all, would be rejected, “especially now under Israel’s strikes”.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, speaking in Haifa, said: “We know from the record of Iran they are not negotiating honestly.”
DEVELOPING STORY
Emergency services are racing to assess damage from the earthquake as Israeli airstrikes continue. The full extent of casualties and damage from the tremor remains unknown as this story develops.
With Iran’s infrastructure already under severe strain from a week of bombing, the earthquake could not have come at a worse time for the Islamic Republic’s ability to respond to both natural and man-made disasters.
This is a breaking news story. More to follow…
