The Zendan–Minab Fault System (ZMFS) forms a major right-lateral shear zone at the transition between the Zagros collision belt and the Makran subduction system. Although its onshore kinematics are relatively well constrained, the geometry and structural role of its offshore continuation in the western Makran remain insufficiently understood. This study investigates the offshore expression of the ZMFS using a regional 4 × 4 km grid of 2D seismic reflection profiles acquired by the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) and six depth-migrated seismic sections.
Edge-detection techniques were employed to overcome uncertainties arising from the absence of 3D seismic coverage, limited well control, and lower resolution of deeper seismic sections.
Most faults in the offshore ZMFS appear geometrically parallel and discontinuous, consistent with soft-linked behavior, and no continuous through-going flower structures can be confidently resolved given the 4 km line spacing; thus, the observed segmentation may partly reflect spatial resolution limitations. GPS-derived rates (~16 mm yr⁻¹) indicate significant offshore strain accumulation along the Zagros–Makran transfer zone, including the ZMFS segment, suggesting that moderate to large earthquakes could occur at intersections of strike-slip and thrust faults, with potential tsunamigenic implications. These observations support interpretation of the offshore ZMFS as a broad transpressional transfer zone accommodating oblique Arabia–Eurasia convergence.