Casualties are expected following the 6.3 magnitude quake on Sunday. The earthquake was at a depth of 65 kilometres (40 miles) and struck 114 km (70 miles) northwest of the city of Ilam. Iranian rescue teams have been sent to the area, according to state television.
No fatalities have been reported so far, it added.
Pirhossein Koulivand, head of the state emergency services, said: “No reports of any fatalities yet and most of the injured were hurt while fleeing, not due to quake damage.”
Video footage shared on social media following the earthquake shows concerned residents gathering on the street.
The quake’s tremors were felt from as far away as Iraq’s capital Baghdad and in Erbil in the Kurdistan region, according to the Iraqi Geological Survey.
Iraq’s interior ministry said no damage or casualties had been reported in Baghdad.
The quake was also felt in Kuwait and in coastal areas, according to state news agency Kuna.
Speaking to state telivison, Ali Moradi, head of Iran’s seismology centre, said: “Fortunately, the quake was not near bigger cities.
“But it might have caused damage in villages and I hope not that many villages are located where it hit.
It comes a year after a deadly earthquake hit the area on November 12 2017, leaving hundreds of people dead and causing widespread damage.
At least 620 people were killed and thousands were injured in the quake which struck the western Kermanshah province.
And in 2003, a quake of a magnitude of 6.6 in Kerman province of Iran killed 31,000 people and flattened the historic city of Bam.
This is a breaking story. More to follow.