Following the earthquake the U.S. offered direct humanitarian assistance to Iran and in return the state promised to comply with an agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency which supports greater monitoring of its nuclear interests.

A new institutional framework in Iran was established to address problems of urban planning and to reconstruct the city of Bam in compliance with strict seismic regulations.

The Earth's crust deforms in response to the plate motion in a broad zone spanning the width of Iran and extending north into Turkmenistan.

More than half of the quake was produced from its southern segment of approximately 13 kilometres (8 mi), where the slip reached a maximum of up to 270 centimetres (8.9 ft) resulting in a large stress drop of at least 6 MPa.

Based on these results, scientists suggest that the Bam earthquake ruptured a hidden fault and that in this process an unusually strong asperity was involved, causing the widespread devastation of the tremor.

[16] Mohsen Aboutorabi, professor of architecture at the University of Central England, demonstrated the lack of good building materials by banging two bricks together in Bam, resulting in cracking.

Ali Zang-Abadi, head of education in Bam, described the state of pupils and teachers as "badly need[ing] psychological help because they are morally devastated".

[18] However, following the earthquake, White House spokesman Scott McClellan spoke on behalf of President Bush: "Our thoughts and prayers are with those who were injured and with the families of those who were killed.

[22] In return, Iran promised to comply with an agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency which supported better monitoring of its nuclear interests.

This led U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell to suggest direct talks with Iran in the future,[18] however, he also said that the U.S. was still concerned about other Iranian issues such as the prospect of terrorism and the country's support of Hamas.

It was well received by physicians and civilians at the scene, however, in contrast to this support, IRNA, the state-controlled radio in Iran, accused the United States of illegal interference in internal matters.

"[14] The Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei visited the damaged areas on December 29, urging all Iranians and international organizations to help in any way possible.

USAID and OFDA sent in five airlifts of supplies for relief, including 1,146 tents, 4,448 kitchen sets, approximately 12,500 blankets, and 430 rolls of plastic sheeting amounting to a cost of $543,605.

That day, the IFRC announced that the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) had sent in 75 volunteers, organized in 11 teams to treat earthquake survivors for shock and to provide psychological support.

[14] Many of these individuals were living in unheated tents among the rubble which forced the coordinators to move thousands of families to heated[24] camps on the outskirts of Bam.

[16] In some areas, looters stole food from warehouses and local markets, causing the police force to react to stop further destabilization of the rescue efforts.

[31] An Iranian navy helicopter crashed 30 miles (48 km) southwest of Bam on December 28 after making a delivery of tents and blankets.

[32] After the earthquake, the Iranian government considered moving the state capital from Tehran to another location for fear of a crippling event similar to what had just befallen Bam.

[14] Given the failure of the mud brick buildings and lack of compliance with the 1989 Iranian seismic code, the reconstruction in Bam paid special attention to using earthquake-durable materials.

"[17] Horst Indorf, a representative for permanent shelter issues from ASB, a German non-government organization, frowned on the use of iron structures in the city given its movement during an earthquake, saying "The best architecture for this area is clay brick (with nets) but this means 80 to 90 cm thick walls and a very good insulated roof".

[34][35] The Iranian Government established the Guiding Office for the Recovery of Bam (GO), consisting of a panel of 11 members, with the Minister of Housing and Urban Development as the chairman.

played a key role in the reconstruction progress by appointing consulting architects to plan, analyze and review possible strategies in the urban redesign for enhanced earthquake resistance in the future.

[35] The United Nations Human Settlements Programme, UN-HABITAT, launched a project to address the issue of earthquake-resistant structures on March 1, 2004, in Bam.

[34] While the established councils and efforts at collaborative planning were set up during the reconstruction phase, it has been considerably more difficult for the many stakeholders in the building to gain consensus on architectural decision making, given diverse and often conflicting interests.

[36] Consequently, the actual reconstruction was initiated without acknowledgment to the overall urban strategic master plan, resulting in the discarding of many of the original proposals and scope for collaboration.

[36] Notably the city reconstruction planners have had serious difficulties in regards to the planning of the streets and their width, which has seen them purchase over 1200 properties to facilitate and help shape the infrastructural redevelopment process.

[24] The Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS), who had begun a planned six month recuperation programme in the aftermath,[27] were still present in Bam a year later.

In response to the earthquake, the International Federation of the Red Cross mobilized international funds and resources to assist the Iranian Red Crescent in vastly improving its environmental disaster response strategies which has seen the construction of an urban health center and ten schools with a formal training programme for its relief officers, and a road rescue station, completed in late 2005.

[38] After the earthquake, survivors began using opium on a large scale which was easily accessible due to Bam's location on a trade route for drugs coming from Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Dr. Parsa arrives in Tehran to perform a complex operation, where he notices a family friend named "Quanati" who urges him to come back to his hometown of Bam for assistance.