Taftan is an active stratovolcano

Stratovolcano

A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a tall, conical volcano built up by many layers of hardened lava, tephra, pumice, and volcanic ash. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile and periodic, explosive eruptions...

 in southeastern Iran

Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

 situated in the Sistan and Baluchestan province. At nearly 4,000 meters (13,000 ft) above sea level, it is the highest mountain in southeastern Iran. The nearest city is Khash

Khash (city)

Khash is a city in and the capital of Khash County, in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 56,683, in 10,176 families....

. Taftan is a Persian word which means "The Place of Heat".

According to the Global Volcanism Program

Global Volcanism Program

The Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program documents Earth's volcanoes and their eruptive history over the past 10,000 years. The GVP reports on current eruptions from around the world as well as maintaining a database repository on active volcanoes and their eruptions. In this way, a...

, "Highly active, sulfur

Sulfur

Sulfur or sulphur is the chemical element with atomic number 16. In the periodic table it is represented by the symbol S. It is an abundant, multivalent non-metal. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with chemical formula S8. Elemental sulfur is a bright yellow...

-encrusted fumarole

Fumarole

A fumarole is an opening in a planet's crust, often in the neighborhood of volcanoes, which emits steam and gases such as carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, hydrochloric acid, and hydrogen sulfide. The steam is created when superheated water turns to steam as its pressure drops when it emerges from...

s occur at the summit of the Southeast cone. The deeply dissected Northwest cone is of Pleistocene

Pleistocene

The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....

 age. In January 1902 the volcano was reported to be smoking heavily for several days, with occasional strong night-time glow. A lava

Lava

Lava refers both to molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption and the resulting rock after solidification and cooling. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at...

flow was reported at Taftan in 1993, but may have been a mistaken observation of a molten sulfur flow."