Earthquake hits near Iranian island, no casualties

A magnitude 5.8 earthquake hit near southern Iran's Qeshm island in the Gulf on Sunday, the official IRNA news agency reported, but a local official said there were no reports of casualties and only minor damage.

"So far, there has been no loss of life reported," the governor of Qeshm, Alireza Nasri, told IRNA. "The damage to buildings has been at the level of cracks in walls."

The United States Geological Survey gave the magnitude of the quake as 5.5. Qeshm island lies close to the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway through which about a fifth of the world's oil passes.