Rheological heterogeneities control the non-progressive uplift of the young Iranian plateau

The Iranian plateau is at the early stage of plateau development and intracontinental deformation in response to the Arabia-Eurasia collision. Its compressive deformation is concentrated in the northern plateau but skips the central counterpart, challenging the common views envisaging the progressive uplift from the collisional front to the hinterland. Based on three-dimensional, crustal-scale numerical models, we present how the rheological heterogeneities common in continents control the deformation of the young Iranian plateau. The weak northern plateau ensures itself a preferential zone in accommodating continental collision. The N-S strike-slip faults within the non-rigid central plateau, formed along the boundaries between the tectonic units with rheological contrast, suppress the shortening of the central plateau while further accentuating the compressive deformation of the northern plateau. Our results suggest a non-progressive intracontinental deformation pattern where rheological boundaries and mechanically weak zones, not necessarily those close to collisional fronts, preferentially accommodate continental convergence.