At 05:53:01 (UTC) a M5.7 earthquake struck 25km south-east of Sarey, Turkey close to the Iranian border. The earthquake had a depth of ~6.4km and initial reports are of several deaths and numerous injuries due to building collapse. A second M6 event occurred at 16:00:31 (20-02-23) in the same area.
The middle east and surrounding areas are prone to seismic activity due to the movement of four major tectonic plates (Arabian, Eurasian, Indian and African). This plate interaction produces large-scale tectonic processes such as subduction, transform faulting, compressional mountain building, and crustal extension.
Further information is available at the following sources:
M5.7 event,
https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us70007v29/executive
https://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=832418
http://irsc.ut.ac.ir/newsview.php?&eventid=162408&network=earth_ismc__
M6 event,
https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us70007v9g/executive
https://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=832582