The Tehran University Geophysics Department said the quake registerd a magnitude of 6.1 on its equipment, but other seismological agencies in Europe and the U.S. placed the magnitude at between 5.5 and 5.8.
The quake struck at 2:52 p.m. local time in Fars province at an epicenter about 50 miles west of the provincial capital of Shiraz.
Officials said the shaking lasted a long time, damaging several buildings and causing people to rush outside in panic.
There was no immediate word on how the single fatality in Monday’s quake occurred.