The official news agency IRNA said the first quake, measuring 4.2, hit the town of Zarand at 4:51 am (01:21 GMT). A local official there reported no damage or injuries.

The second tremor of 5.2 on the open-ended Richter scale hit the town of Ravar at 5:58 am (02:29 GMT), and an official there also said there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

Last week a quake measuring 5.2 hit the town of Jiroft, likewise in Kerman province.

The towns are all situated cround the city of Bam, which was almost totally destroyed on December 26 last year. Some 31,000 people lost their lives in that quake.

Iran is criss-crossed by seismological faults, and tremors and quakes are an almost daily occurrence.

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