[14] The 6.4 and 6.2 intraplate earthquakes occurred as a result of oblique strike-slip faulting in the shallow crust about 300 km east of the Eurasia-Arabian plate boundary.

[8] Iran's state television reported the earthquake hit near the towns of Ahar, Heris and Varzaqan in East Azerbaijan province at 4:53 p.m. local time (12:23 GMT).

"268 people, 219 women and 49 men, lost their lives in hospitals" while the rest were killed on the spot, Iran's Health Minister Marzieh Vahid-Dastjerdi said.

[15] In villages near Varzaqan, with most men away from home working, the many mud brick houses which collapsed trapped mainly women and children inside.

[4][18] The medical infrastructure in the catastrophe stricken region is not sufficient, and many heavily injured did not survive the rather long way to the nearest hospital.

[20] Rescue teams continued searching for survivors through the night, Iranian officials[specify] said they expected the death toll to rise.

[5] A day after the quakes, more than 36,000 people had been given emergency shelter, and the Iranian government had dispatched nearly 100 ambulances, 1,100 Red Crescent workers, 44,000 food packages and 5,600 tents.

Hospitals in the region's major cities were overcrowded and struggling to cope with the large number of people waiting for treatment.

In a Majlis meeting on 13 August 2012, MPs from the affected region questioned President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for not visiting the area and for not announcing public mourning.