Quake Prediction Sparks Fear in Iran

TEHRAN — Iranians crammed Tehran’s parks by the thousands Sunday, frightened by a Chinese astrologer’s prediction that a strong earthquake would strike the Iranian capital.

There were sighs of relief when the Earth failed to shake at 8 p.m., the hour that was forecast by the astrologer.

But as dusk fell on the city of 7 million, many of those camping out said they would stay a few more hours just to be on the safe side.

Mellat Park, the capital’s biggest, was packed, the road leading to it blocked by cars for half a mile.

The scare began Friday when Tehran Radio relayed the forecast, apparently first broadcast on Beijing Radio’s Farsi program.

Tehran Radio repeatedly read statements by seismologists saying the forecast had no scientific basis.

Scientists say that Tehran, crisscrossed by a dozen fault lines, is likely to be hit by a strong tremor but that it is impossible to predict the time.