An earthquake measuring 4.3 on the Richter scale on Monday jolted the city of Qouchan in Khorasan Razavi Province in northeastern Iran. There was no report of casualties or damages, Khabaronline reported. Iran sits astride several major faults, making it prone to frequent earthquakes, many of which have been destructive. In August 2012, two quakes in northwestern Iran claimed the lives of 306 people and injured more than 4,500 others. The worst in recent times hit Bam in Kerman Province in December 2003 killing 31,000 people (about a quarter of its population) and destroyed the city’s ancient mud-built citadel.
