Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged officials on Sunday night to help those affected by the earthquakes which the US Geological Survey said measured 6.4 and 6.3 magnitude and struck 11 minutes apart, northeast of Tabriz.

The city is an important trading hub far from Iran's oil-producing areas and known nuclear facilities. Buildings inside Tabriz are substantially built and there were no injuries.

But homes in the villages are often made of concrete blocks or mud brick that can crumble and collapse in a strong quake.

About the broadcaster:

Rosie Tuck is a copy editor at the China Daily website. She was born in New Zealand and graduated from Auckland University of Technology with a Bachelor of Communications studies majoring in journalism and television. In New Zealand she was working as a junior reporter for the New Zealand state broadcaster TVNZ. She is in Beijing on an Asia New Zealand Foundation grant, working as a journalist in the English news department at the China Daily website.

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