In the evening of October 5, 2024, an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.6 hit Iran with an epicenter in Aradan, Semnan Province, at a shallow depth of 10 kilometers, according to the US Geological Survey.
The earthquake was felt as far away as Tehran, about 110 kilometers from the epicenter, around 10:45 p.m. local time.
Within minutes, a second, weaker tremor was reported in Israel, sparking intense speculation and debate online.
Many social media users immediately linked the seismic events to a possible secret nuclear test by Iran, given the ongoing tensions between the two countries. One X user (formerly Twitter) speculated: “Iran went nuclear last night. They used the test bombs 10 km below the surface near Semnan to ensure minimal radiation exposure and this caused a 4.6 magnitude earthquake on the surface.
Iran has gone nuclear since last night.
They used the test bombs 10 km below the surface near Semnan to ensure minimum radiation exposure and it resulted in a 4.6 scale earthquake which was recorded by seismographs .#iran #khamenai #nuclear #israel pic.twitter.com/bssDFYwdQ5— akhilesh kumar (@akumar92) October 6, 2024