On Tuesday, April 16, there was yet another earthquake in the Sistan and Baluchestan province of Iran. Neighboring Pakistan, this province is one of Iran's poorest and sparsely populated. Had an earthquake of the same magnitude (7.8 on the Richter scale) struck Tehran, hundreds of thousands if not more could have perished.
The last time there was a high-casualty earthquake in Iran was in late December 2003 in the city of Bam. It killed more than 30,000 people.