Two powerful earthquakes have struck northeastern and southern Iran, injuring more than 200 people and damaging hundreds of homes, officials have said.

The first earthquake, which had a magnitude of 5.7, hit towns in the northeast of the country on Friday evening, and a second 5.8 magnitude quake struck the south on Saturday morning.  

The semi-official Iranian news agency Ilna reported an injury toll of 274 people as a result of the quake in the northeast.

Two of the injured were in critical condition, the official Iranian news agency quoted Mojtaba Sadeqian, governor of Torbat-e Heydariyeh, the town hardest hit, as saying.

There were no reports of casualties in the south, but state news channels said there was extensive damage in the region mainly because most of the homes there are made of mud and brick.

"Due to the old and traditional structure of the buildings, the quake damaged 700 houses," Ali Reza Kazemi, mayor of the southern region of Negar, said.
 
Iranian TV footage showed parts of buildings reduced to rubble and homes strewn with shattered glass and other debris.

Communications were also temporarily disrupted by the earthquakes.

Earthquakes and tremors are common in Iran, which is located on seismic fault lines.