Quake Kills 7 In Iran

TEHRAN, Iran — A strong earthquake rocked southern Iran yesterday, sending tremors across the Persian Gulf and shaking the skyscrapers of Dubai. Iranian state television reported that seven people were killed and 40 others were injured.

The country's seismological center said the magnitude-6 quake struck at 3:30 p.m. and was centered about 850 miles south of the capital, Tehran, in the region of Bandar Abbas.

Bandar Abbas is one of Iran's main ports and is home to a large oil refinery that primarily serves the domestic market.

Qeshm island in the Persian Gulf was hit hardest, according to the state TV report, which quoted a local disaster management official, Yasser Hazbavi. Mr. Hazbavi said the shaking lasted 30 seconds, but he gave no details on the extent of the damage there.

Ten aftershocks were registered, each with a magnitude of 4.7 or less, state TV said, quoting an official at the seismological center whom it identified only by a last name, Rezapour.

Abdolkarim Setareh, a local official in the town of Bandar-e-Khamir, also near the quake's epicenter, said extensive damage was unlikely.

"Houses in this region have been built in recent years and are resistant to earthquakes. Only minor damage has been reported from a dozen villages so far," he told the Associated Press by phone.