The earthquakes caused extensive damage throughout northeastern Iran, killing an estimated 297 to 440 people and left at least 279 injured.

[3] Iran itself is situated on the Eurasian plate, where it hosts complex zones of faults, forming tectonic blocks within the country.

Crustal shortening and thickening occur at fold and thrust belts along the Zagros, Alborz, and Kopet Dag ranges.

Intraplate deformation occur, mainly displaying reverse faulting at the southern and northern parts of Iran to accommodate the convergence via crustal uplift, and strike-slip faulting at the east and western ends, where the Arabian plate slides past the adjacent crust.

The eastern end of the rupture was also the intersection point of the Abiz Fault's (source of the November 14 event) northern termination.

[13] Another earthquake measuring Ms 6.0 or Mw 6.1[15] on December 7 was initially thought to have caused a 15 km (9.3 mi) long surface rupture to the north.

Strong ground motion mainly of horizontal fashion caused many walls of these structures to completely detach from its roof, resulting in a collapse.

The earthquake struck at 5:51 local time (IST) when many adult villagers were outside their homes harvesting saffron.

Most of the dead were reportedly young children left at home while their adult family members were working in the saffron fields.

The death toll from the second earthquake was smaller due to the low population density of the area when the quake struck.