A natural, 4.9-magnitude earthquake struck Iran near the Bushehr nuclear plant Wednesday, reports said, as tensions in the Middle East soared following Iranian missile strikes on Iraqi bases housing US troops.

A USGS quake map listed two readings southest of Borzajan -- one at 7.50 am IST (10 km SE, magnitude 4.9) and another at 8:49 am IST (17 km SE, magnitude 4.5).

The map shows the respective locations of the earthquake's epicentre and the city of Bushehr, near which the nuclear plant is located.

Borazjan is a nearly 70-km drive away from Bushehr.

Credit: USGS

AFP later tweeted a bigger map.

AFP map of Iran locating the epicentre of a 4.5-magnitude quake near Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran@AFPgraphics pic.twitter.com/Lmfx8dLnXt AFP news agency (@AFP) January 8, 2020

"The depth and epicenter indicate it was a natural event and unrelated to this evening's [US time] events. A similar earthquake struck in late December," the website Strategic Sentinel tweeted.

The earthquake hit on a morning when the world woke up to news of Iranian missile strikes on Iraqi bases housing US-led coalition personnel, and the crash of a Ukrainian passenger jet near Tehran's airport.

The Iranian offensive was retaliation for a US drone strike that killed a man believed to be the Middle East nation's second most powerful figure, the Quds Force commander Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani.

A top Iranian official has now warned that any "adverse military action" by the US would lead to an "all out war across the region".