Tehran: A 5.1-magnitude earthquake struck southern Iran's Fars province on Saturday destroying some villages, but no casualties were reported so far, the state television said on its website.
The quake hit the town of Nourabad in Fars, according to the report.
Iran sits astride several major fault lines in the Earth's crust and is prone to frequent quakes, many of which have been devastating.
A quake on December 21 in the southeastern province of Kerman had left seven people dead, wrecked several villages and brought down power lines.
The deadliest in recent times was a 6.3-magnitude quake which hit the southern city of Bam in December 2003, killing 31,000 people - about a quarter of its population - and destroying the city's ancient mud-built citadel.
