Earthquake hits near Iran’s Bushehr nuclear plant

TEHRAN — A magnitude-4.4 earthquake jolted a sparsely populated district some 110 kilometers (70 miles) northwest of Bushehr, Iran, Monday morning, rattling a region home to the Islamic Republic’s only operational nuclear power plant.

There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

The epicenter of the quake was Bandar-e Ganaveh in the country’s southwestern coast, according to the USGS.

Iran’s official IRNA news agency said temblor struck around 4:30 a.m. Monday local time.

The Bushehr nuclear power plant, which went online in 2011 with Russian help, is built to withstand earthquakes of magnitude 8.

In 2013, a magnitude-6.1 temblor killed at least 37 people in an area of the same province where Monday’s quake struck.

Iran experiences frequent earthquakes. In 2003, a magnitude-6.6 earthquake killed some 26,000 and flattened the historic southeastern city of Bam.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report