TEHRAN, March 21 (Xinhua) -- A series of earthquakes struck near Iran's Natanz nuclear facility on Friday, but caused no damage to the sensitive site, an Iranian atomic energy official said, after a 5.0-magnitude tremor and subsequent aftershocks shook central Isfahan province.

Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, told the semi-official Fars news agency that the Natanz facility had been designed to withstand even stronger earthquakes to ensure its operations.

The initial 5.0-magnitude quake hit near Natanz county at 10:23 a.m. local time (0653 GMT), followed by aftershocks measuring 4.5 and 3.4, Iran's official IRNA news agency reported. The epicenter was 4 km from Natanz city, at a depth of 10 km, it added.

Masour Shisheh-Foroush, head of Isfahan province's crisis management department, told IRNA the tremors shattered windows and caused some rural homes to collapse, but there were no reports of casualties.

Natanz, a key site in Iran's uranium enrichment program, has long been under international scrutiny amid concerns over Tehran's nuclear activities. Enditem

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