Geology of Zagros metamorphosed volcaniclastic sandstones: a key for changing the Mawat Ophiolite Complex to a metamorphic core complex, Kurdistan Region, NE-Iraq

Mawat Ophiolite Complex is located about 36 km to the northeast of Sulaimani city and directly to the east-northeast of Mawat town near the border of Iran in the northeastern Iraq. The complex has about 600-km2 surface area and consists of high mountain terrains that subjected to intense geological investigations from the fiftieth of previous century till now. According to previous studies, the complex contains tens of igneous rocks such as basalt, metabasalt, tuff, diabase, metadiabase, diorite dykes, periodotite, serpentinite, serpentinite-matrix mélange, gabbro, metagabbro, harzbergite, pyroxenite, plagiogranite, pegmatite, granitiod rocks and dunite. They added occurrences of the volcanic and subvolcanic rocks in the form of dykes or basaltic flows. The present study tries to change the petrology and tectonics of whole complex from Ophiolite Complex to Metamorphic Core Complex. The revision includes refusal of all the above igneous rocks, instead they considered as medium grade regional metamorphism of different types of volcaniclastic sandstones (volcanic wackes), arenites and greywackes (impure sandstones) which sourced predominantly from remote volcanic source area inside Iran. The revision depended on several conjugate field and laboratory evidences inside the complex. These evidences such as absence of pillow basalt, volcanic flows, glass shards, volcanic cones, dykes, sills, contact metamorphism, dilatational structures and flow structures. Other evidences are presence of cross beddings, erosional surfaces, lensoidal channel fills, metamorphosed conglomerate, exposures of thousands of laminated planar beds and transition from fresh volcaniclastic sandstones to its medium grade metamorphosed counterparts, which previously considered as igneous rocks of ophiolite types. Another, evidence, in contrast to ophiolite section, the basalt location is at the base of the claimed ophiolite section while plutonic (dunite and peridotite) rocks located at its top. These locations of the two rocks contradict the definition of ophiolites. Accordingly, the present study changed the geological map of the whole Mawat area from igneous outcrops to metamorphosed volcaniclastic sandstones, arenites and greywackes that belong to Walash-Naoperdan Series. The parent rocks of the series transformed to different types of regionally metamorphosed rocks by deep burial during Eocene. During the burial, diageneses and metamorphisms enhanced by complex mixture of materials from different source areas and seawaters environments. Later, they uplifted, unroofed and exhumed during Pliocene as a core complex.


Results
3.1. Volcaniclastic sandstones versus volcanic and plutonic rocks in the WNS Volcaniclastic sandstones as type of volcanic detritus include clastic materials composed in part or entirely of volcanic fragments, formed by any particle-forming mechanism (e.g. pyroclastic, epiclastic), transported by any mechanism, deposited in any physiogeographic environment or mixed with any other volcaniclastic type or with any nonvolcanic fragment types in any proportion (Fisher, 1961[17] and Marsaglia et al, 2016) [18]). Grower (2007) [19] discussed in detail difficulties of identifying metamorphosed volcaniclastic rocks from metamorphosed igneous intrusions and mentioned their presence in metamorphic regions.
In the studied area, I found relatively a fresh (but locally slightly recrystallized or metamorphosed) thick succession of fine and coarse grain volcaniclastic sandstones, siltstones and conglomerates for the first time around the Mawat Ophiolite Complex. This succession well exposed along western side of Satur valley (or gorge) at three km west of Mawat town, where the new road cut is available between Dasti Tile and Gabarwa villages at the south and north of the succession respectively ( Figure  2). It exposed on the road that passes through villages such as Zhazhla, Hanjira, Awakurte, Azmak, Grgasha, Shanakhse and Dere. A small outcrop is located on the Peak of Sarsir Mountain at 3 km northeast of Chwarta town too.
The succession is about 1500 m thick and mainly consist of dark grey, black (weathering grey or brown), well bedded (occasionally laminated) volcaniclastic sandstones with intervals of siltstone and siliceous-ferruginous shales in addition to few beds of conglomerate (volcaniclastic conglomerate) ( Figure 3). The succession ends with about 40 m of fossiliferous Naoperdan limestone. When the terminology of Bailey (1996) [20] is applied, it can be named "island-arc detritus succession" which derived from the forearc inside Iran that developed after subduction of the Arabian plate under the Iranian one and continued during late Jurassic and whole Cretaceous.
Under polarized and stereoscopic microscopes, the sandstones and conglomerates consist of different clasts (grains) of volcanic rocks and the clasts have porphyritic and aphanitic textures in addition to broken and unbroken crystals of plagioclase and amphiboles. The iron oxides mostly replaced the latter crystal while calcite replaced the former partially (Figures 4 and 5a). The succession contains trace fossils and ripple marks (Figure 3), both imprinted on fine grain volcaniclastic sandstone (Figure 5b). The paleocurrent (evident from the ripples) indicate the southwest direction of transport and the same direction is obtainable by grain size analysis whereas the grain size decreases toward latter direction.
Previously Ali et al. (2017) [21] found marine clastic rocks in the Walash-Naoperdan Series in the Hasanbag and Qalander areas, which consist of lithic arenites with high proportions of volcanic rock fragments. Therefore, these volcaniclastic sandstones in the series are not volcanic rocks as previously considered by tens of authors but they are sedimentary rocks transported from northern remote volcanic source areas and deposited as volcaniclastic sandstone (as possible turbidites) in deep basin. Serious field works failed to find any signs of volcanic intrusions or extrusions while the aforementioned evidences indicated sedimentary nature of the succession.

Metamorphosed volcaniclastic succession inside Mawat ophiolite Complex
As mentioned before, the boundary of the Mawat ophiolite Complex consists of the outcrops of fresh volcaniclastic sandstones of Walash-Naoperdan Series (or Walash Group). However, at the north and east they disrupted by the Main Zagros Thrust and the outcrops disappear. When one walks, from this boundary toward the center of the complex, he observes after 500 m, a gradual increase of the grade of the metamorphism of the volcaniclastic sediments and it increases more toward the core (center). Due to the slight metamorphism near the boundary, it is possible that the previous studies applied "metabasalt and metadiabase of Mawat Ophiolite complex (see   [6] for these rocks. These rocks are observable north and northwest of Qarababa Mountain and areas around Gabarwa, Chinara, Spyiara, Shasho villages (see Figure 1). More advancing ahead toward the center the grade metamorphism increase and the greywakes and arenites are called "Gabbro or peridotite" in or near the core. Island-arc detritus (Bailey, 1996) [20] is the word can be applied for these metamorphosed sediments.
There are three evidences for sedimentary origin of the above rocks, the first is observing, in these areas, clear exposure of thousands of thin and thick layers of coarse or fine grain rocks of black, light green, grey and brown of different alternations. These layers (beds) have planar bedding surface, sharp lower and upper contacts, mostly laminated and in some places cross bedded (Figures 6, 7 and 8). These rocks are previously called banded metabasalts or banded gabbros but they neither extrusion nor intrusions due to lacking of pillow basalts, ropey (pahoehoe) structures, glass shards, volcanic cones, dykes, amygdales, dilatational structures, digitation, cross cutting relations and contact metamorphisms, chilled boundaries (thermally metamorphosed border of the host rocks). Close insight shows similarities the layers (successions) of the claimed metabasalts, metadiabases and gabbros of previous Mawat Ophiolite Complex to the layers of the volcaniclastic sandstones of Walash-Naoperdan Series. The differences shaped by different grades of regional metamorphism of different lithologies. The structures such as alternation of laminae and beds with different lithologies and sharp bedding surfaces inherited from their deposition in aqueous media where the system was open for rapid changing of energy and materials influxes.
The second evidence is occurrence of buried channel (lenticular body) (most possibly turbidite submarine channel) which has lensoidal shape and covered from the top by drape of finer grain sediment (Figure 7). The channel is confined type and has erosional base on metamorphosed fine and soft volcaniclastic deposits. It is located near Waras village on the outcrops of metabasalt of Mehaidi (1975) [3]; Othman and Gloague (2014)  [24]. According to cross section, the channel has elongation of north-south which is the direction of sediment transport toward the south. The shape of this channel is similar to channels recorded by Woods (2014) [25] and Rebesco et al. (2014) [26] in the submarine turbidite channels. The coarseness of the channel fill relative to the surroundings rocks is direct evidence for its sedimentary origin since turbidite channels sediments are normally coarser than their hosting rocks. There is another proof that is impossibility of intrusion of small gabbroic body (but coarse grain) to intrude in fine grain basalt. Tens of smaller lensoidal channels are observable on outcrops of the claimed metabasalts, gabbros and peridotites around Gabarwa, Kuradawe, Saraw and Daraban villages (Figure 8). The boundaries of these channels are so sharp that there are no even a millimeters of chilled (thermal metamorphosed zonation) of the border of the claimed metabasalt or diabase, therefore, all the lensoidal bodies are sedimentary and they are neither volcanic flow nor intrusion as claimed previously. The rocks of the channels and beds show clear granular and poorly sorted textures that resemble porphyritic texture of volcanic rocks. Jassim and Al-Hassan (1977) [14] observed granulation of plagioclase in the banded gabbro of Mawat and Penjween complexes and confirmed similarity of the granularity in the two complexes. Nevertheless, they attributed this type of texture to shearing and thrusting. They also mentioned (p.86) absence of chilled margin of the dikes in Mawat Ophiolite Complex.
The third is widespread laminations and bandings in the claimed metabsalts and pultonic rocks. In this regard, Jassim and Al-Hassan, 1977, p.173) [14] mentioned that banded (layered) gabbro covered main part of the Mawat complex and the bands show local laminations due to mineralogical and textural variation in the gabbro. Buday and Jassim (1987) [5] recorded banded and laminated gabbro, which attributed to crystal accumulation. In the same context, Abdulzahra (2008) [27] concluded that layered gabbro covers the major part in all rocks of the central sector of Mawat Complex. He added that two main types of the igneous layering are recognizable in the layered gabbros. They are grain size layering and the compositional (mineralogical) layering and he added that both types of layering are commonly associated with each other. He farther added that graded bedding and thicknesses of layering in layered gabbros indicate gravitational crystal settling mechanism.
The findings of the present study in addition to lamination and graded bedding of previous studies are evidence of the sedimentary origins of the gabbros and metabasalts of Mawat Ophiolite Complex. Magma cannot generate channels, erosional surfaces; ripple marks, cross bedding and thousands of laminated planar beddings (Figures 7, 8 and 9). The magma or lava is 100,000 times more viscous than water, therefore, deposition, erosion, flow regime changes of solid particles such as crystals or detrital grains are more common and faster thousand times in water than lavas or magmas.    In the same manner, nearly all previous granitoid bodies (pegmatites, lecogranites and other light color igneous rocks) are concordant. These bodies are studied by Mirza and Ismail (2007) [16]; Kareem  [23]. The photos of the last four articles show clearly elongation of the bodies parallel (concordant) to layers of host rocks ( Figures 11, 12 and 13a). The bodies boundaries are sharp and don't show contact metamorphism. In Mawat area, the granitoid bodies, dykes and their host rocks are deformed (tilted) to nearly 75 degrees of dip and in the direction of northeast in the northern boundary of the complex while in the southern boundary the dip attitude is opposite (Figures 11a and 12). Therefore, these bodies are felsic thick beds of volcanic clastic wackes or arenites, which are prone to regional metamorphism together with the host rocks (gabbro, diorite or peridotite). In the many places, there are thin (3-30cm) and 1-10 m long albite or Quartz veins cutting concordantly or discordantly the layers of the host rocks of the claimed igneous rocks with wedge shaped, with sharp boundaries (Figure 13b). The author think that these small veins are tectonic fractures formed during tectonic burial, deformation and later filled with secondary calcite but they replaced with plagioclase and quartz during metamorphism in elevated temperatures and pressure.  [28] for claimed pegmatite dyke which elongates parallel to layers of host rocks, on the peak of Sarshyw mountain (the photo looks northeast), b) another bodies with same attitude by Othman and Gloague, (2014) [11]. In the present study, red lines indicate the elongation of the two bodies and layers.  [22], the parallelism of its strike to the layering of the hosted rock (the red line, of the present study) is clear, the photo looks northeast. b) Same condition is true for the claimed dyke of (Al Humadi et al. 2019) [23].
In this regard, Spotl et al., (1999) [30] concluded that replacement of calcite by albite occurs in deep burial and high temperature diagenetic environment (in presence of brine fluid), ranging from high-grade diagenesis (150-200 °C) to lower green schist facies (300-350 °C). They added that in siliciclastic sediments this replacement begin more early and more prevalently. In thin section partial  11 and total replacement of plagioclase by calcite is very clear (Figure 13b and 14). However, under high temperature and pressure of the metamorphism, the present author think that the process of replacement can be reversal especially in marine sedimentary rocks in which, Al, Si and Na available (from seawaters and clays) for replacement of calcite by albite and other plagioclases. In contrast to limestone terrain, the igneous one are consist mainly of smooth undulating and rolling hills that are barren from high cliffs and elevate peaks as shown the figure (15)  12 the central part of the Mawat Ophiolite Complex that according to all authors, mentioned in the introduction, consist of Gabbroic rocks. As mentioned before, this terrane consists of the alternation of thousands of thin and thick beds of fine grain (siltstone and shale) and coarse grain (sandstones) of metamorphosed volcaniclastic rocks. In most case, each two coarse grain competent beds of parasequences separated by fine grain soft incompetent sediments ( Figures. 6, 7, 12 and 13a). Therefore, these rocks are not massive and each two beds interfaces acts as zone of weakness (discontinuities surface) so they don't shape high contrast topography. Although several rock types are mapped by Al-Mehaidi (1975) [3], but in the field the boundaries of these rocks are unclear due to intense deformation. These properties are manifested in the highly zigzag boundaries and spotty distribution of all outcrops of the clamed igneous rocks in the map of the latter author ( Figure 1) and by (Othman and Gloague, 2014) [11] (Figure 16a).
Another evidence absence of ophiolite rocks is overlying of what called ophiolite by shallow marine nummulitic Eocene carbonate of Naoperdan Formation in Mawat and Bulfat Complexes (areas). In Mawat area the, the limestone is fresh in the periphery (at southwest, south and southeast) of the complex while in the north and northeast it metamorphosed which called in Gimo Sequence (Figures 15 and 23). If these two complexes are Ophiolite (oceanic crust and upper mantel rocks), they must been topped or fronted by both pillow basalt and pelagic ooze limestone or radiolarites. In spite of presence of radiolarite rocks at the east and northeast of the Mawat Complex (Figure 1), yet they have not relation with the complex and they located at the back of the complex not at the top or front. It was known that previous studies considered development of Penjween ophiolite by uplift of the Oceanic floor and obduction on to Arabian Continental Margin. If this is true, it must carry radiolarites and pillow lava to Mawat area on its top and front during it climbing the margin. While the high peaks consist wholly or partially of limestone or its metamorphosed equivalents.

Mawat Ophiolite Complex and presence of sharp erosional surfaces
Although crystallization during diageneses (in the source area and in a basin of the deposition and metamorphism destroyed many depositional structures and textures yet many of them can be found. One of them is erosional surfaces which are common feature of detrital (clastic) sediments of both carbonate and siliciclastic types. In the field of the studied area, tens of them can be observable in fresh and metamorphosed volcaniclastic sandstones (previous volcanic rocks, gabbro, diabase, dunite and peridotite). These structures appear as sharp planar, irregular, or concave surfaces with overlying and underlying by coarse and fine grain sediments (Figures 7, 8 and 17). The sediment fill of these erosional structures are appear as small lensoidal bodies which represent small channels that filled with graded coarse sediments, changed upward to fine ones. In the figure (17a) the clasts (plagioclases) and interstices matrix (amphiboles) are clear. The high-energy flow turbidity currents scored the channels in soft volcaniclastic sediments and filled with deposits when the flow velocity decreased .  Due to high viscosity of magma, it cannot flow so speedily to erode and deposit small-scale (few centimeters to decimeters wide) channel-like and ripple-like structures. In water medium, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, waves, and turbidity current can energize high speed turbid flow responsible for erosion in one place and deposition in another one but the magma behave differently due to its high viscosity and closed system. Previously, Jassim and Al-Hassan, 1977, p.173) [14] mentioned trough banding and graded layers but they interpreted these structures as crystals accumulation. The first is recording wide ranges of zircon grains ages in the felsic and gabbroic rocks of the complex and these ages are 222, 94, 81, 40 and 38. We attribute these wide ranges of ages to sedimentary mixing of zircons from different source area and depth when the volcanic arc in Iran (most possibly Urumieh-Dukhtar Magmatic Arc) was prone to deep, old and new rocks erosion successively. They mentioned that one of their samples contained zircons of different ages that cannot occur in igneous rocks due to their closed systems.
The second is showing photos (Figure 18) zircons of Gabbro and felsic dykes that contain spongy and pitted surfaces with pores, in addition to intergrowth with xenotime and monazite minerals. They added that according to Tomaschek et al., (2003) [31]; Hay and Dempster, (2009) [32] such textures can be produced in low temperature aqueous fluid-rich environment through a coupled dissolutionreprecipitation process. The third is their referring to the very low whole-rock Zr content in D1 and D3 (19.7 and 34.3ppm) and they added that according to Watson (1979) [33] it is hard for zircon to crystallize from such a melt. Therefore, it is clear that the origin of felsic is sedimentary and the zircons transported to a side of deposition as detrital grain by turbidity currents. The fourth is their observing sharp crosscutting of host rocks (gabbro and peridotite) by the felsic dykes and they (Al Humadi et al., 2019) [23] concluded that the dyke is older than the host rocks and the age of the gabbro is > 10 Ma younger than the felsic dykes that crosscut the ultramafic mantle section. This type of crosscutting is never exists in igneous rocks because the dyke must be younger than the host rock.

Discussions
In the valleys and galleys, on hills and mountains, the landscapes of the Mawat Ophiolite Complex shows thousands of beds of either fresh or metamorphosed sedimentary volcaniclastic sandstone, siltstone and shale which previously considered as the igneous rocks. In one meters of thickness, one can see several types of rocks that are impossible for magma to differentiate such high numbers of rocks due to closed system of magma in contrast to sedimentary basins in which energy and source areas (materials) changes temporally and spatially ten times quicker than magma. Abdulzahra, (2008) [27] referred to tholeitic nature of Mawat gabbros that show small degree of differentiation (FeO2/MgO) which is less than 2. Therefore, if there is little differentiation, how all the aforementioned igneous rocks formed in successive layered pattern in Mawat Ophiolite Complex? The sedimentary origin is our answers for the question.
Toward southeast of Mawat Ophiolite Complex, the influx of plutonic igneous and limestone clasts increase at the expense of volcanoclastic sediments. They all derived mainly from volcanic source areas with subsidiary plutonic and limestones ones, which deposited in deep marine basin as volcaniclastic sandstones, greywackes and arenites. Previous authors treated the fresh layers as basalts, diabases, while metamorphosed ones considered as gabbros, peridotites, pyroxenite, plagiogranite, lecogranite, pegmatite, dunite by tens of authors worked on the complex.  16 Most of the rocks of the Mawat Ophiolite Complex show planner beds and laminations, except the pulverized and intensely sheared ultrabasic volcaniclastic sandstones. These sheared and hydrated rocks are mainly located in the periphery of the complex where reverse faults prevail due to nearly vertical uplift of the complex as metamorphic core complex. Many authors called these sheared rocks "serpentinite" while both thin sections and had specimens of the present study show that the serpentine mineral exist only on sheared surface and around olivine grains while the rest of the claimed serpentinite consists of amphiboles and pyroxenes with subsidiary olivine and iron oxides.
Othman and Gloague (2014) [11]  The field observations of present study depicted the elongation of the granitoid bodies, felsic dykes (described in the previous section) and chromite bodies. These bodies are nearly have same strikes (elongations) of the sedimentary beds and the minor differences are attributed to tectonic deformations by which component and incompetent bodies might have differently responded to dislocation by stress. The most serious criticism against the present work is occurrence of few pediform chromite and local dunite thick bodies in Mawat Complex. We justify this critic in four points, the first is the equality of strikes of both chromite and dunite bodies with strike of their country rocks as shown in many articles. These articles are such as Kareem (2015) [28] (Figure 11a [34] show granular clasts of chromite in fine matrix (groundmass) with irregular peripheries (Figure 16 c and d).The same type of photo is published by Mohammad (2013, p.5013) [35] too for massive lenses (60×60 cm in dimension) of dunite in Penjween Ophiolite Complex.
The second is high friability and coarseness of the dunite in the outcrops which about 20 m thick and according to Mohammad (2008) [36], its grains are anheral and located on the highest peak in the area. This location contradicts igneous dunite origin because it must be located at the base of ophiolite rock sequence at an elevation lower than gabbros and basalts. Mohammad (2020) [37] and Mohammad and Cornell, (2017) [38] observed this stratigraphic feature of Mawat Ophiolite Complex but they attributed it to overturning of the ophiolite without giving any evidence of their overturn idea. The preset study does not aid this reversal of stratigraphy since there are no any field evidences for this process, all sedimentary structures such as graded bedding, channel shapes and paleocurrents refer to normal stratigraphic condition. Compatible with this study, in the past Jassim and Goff (2006, p.302) [7] mentioned that basalt (with marble) built up the roof (top) of the Mawat Complex. Another problem is inference of   [6] in which they considered that Mawat Ophiolite Complex was separated from Penjween Nappe (Penjween Ophiolite Complex) by gravity sliding and transferred for about 60 km toward west nearly along the plaleostrike. The present study not found any signal of this process of Mawat area and contrary aids vertical uplift with more or less horizontal movement along paleodip normal to Zagros Thrust Fault.
The third is texture of the dunite, under stereo-and polarizer microscope, which composed of discrete transparent grain, surrounded by thin white fine grain matrix and shows more or less subroundness,  (Figures 20, 21 and 22a). The same wearing can be seen under scanning electronic microscopic (Figure 22b), moreover, the dunite contains sporadic anhedral black grains of spinel chromium (Figure 20). The fourth is southwestward decrease of the percentage and sizes of the olivine and increase of the ratios of pyroxene (Mohammad, 2020) [37]. On the map of Othman and Gloague (2014) [11] and Mohammad and Cornell (2017) [38] peridotite changed to gabbro in the same direction (Figure 16a). These means that olivine beds (dunite) is sedimentary and relatively near to the source by which attained coarse and clean texture while toward south (more distal area) it decreased in grain size and mixed with other components from other local source areas or feeder channels. Therefore, Olivine arenite (Pettijohn et al. 1987, p160) [39] (as a type of sandstone) most possibly derived from a source area of the olivine basalt and transported to the present location, and deposited as channel fill sediments (volcaniclastic olivine arenite). In this connection, Mohammad (2020, p.25) [37] found lensoidal body of dunite in side harzburgite, however, he called it tabular body while his photo show clear lensoidal shape not tabular one. In the present study, this type of dunite shape is considered as channel deposit which is similar to the channel recorded by Karim and Al-Bidry (2020) [40] in Mawat Ophiolite Complex and assumed as deposition of the deep marine turbidite channels (Figure 7). According to Karim and Abioui, (2021) [41] these sediments were transported to Mawat area in two stages, in the first they sourced from Urumieh-Dokhtor Magmatic Arc t and deposited inside the Sanandij-Sirjan Zone during Jurassic and Early Cretaceous, later they uplifted and eroded during Paleocene inside Iran reworked to the Mawat area during the latter age. Now clean olivine sands are accumulating on the Huwaii beaches (see green sand on the Hawaii beach in web), these sands can transport to deep basin hundreds of kilometers far from the beach by turbidity currents during tsunamis and typhoons. In the basin, they underwent gravity and shape sorting by which pure olivine arenite can deposit as placer deposits in deep submarine channels. The same processes are true for iron, chromium mineral accumulations in certain places in Mawat and Penjween areas. All circumstance evidences reveal its sedimentary origin but it needs further future study for finding an unequivocal evidences about the dunite origins.   Figure 20. a, b) previous dunite under stereomicroscope show discrete, subrounded and sorted grains (crystals) of olivine (olivine arenite) white fine grain matrix occupy interstices between the grains, it contains randomly distributed black spinel chromium grains (sc), the pin needle head is for scale. Figure 21. a, b) previous dunite under polarizer microscope shows discrete, subrounded and sorted grains (crystals) of olivine under XP and normal lights.  [42] concluded important result by biotite isotopic ages and mentioned that the age of claimed contact metamorphism and the Qandil Metamorphic Series, about 13 km far from the intrusion, gave the same metamorphic age. He farther added that both localities should affected by the same metamorphic events. This equality of ages of two remote samples proves that there are not contact metamorphisms even in Bulfat Igneous Complex and all the rocks of the two complexes were prone to deep burial and regional metamorphism. Naoperdan limestone (as part of Walas-Naoperdan Series) in many localities is in contact with previously claimed gabbro and volcanic rocks in Mawat and Bulfat complexes. The present study investigated these contacts and not observed any evidences of the contact metamorphism, even in centimeter scale. The same condition is true for Gimo Sequence (metamorphic limestone) which consist originally of metamorphosed limestone of later series ( Figure 23).
Pillow lava is one of the main part of the ophiolite sequence but among ten of studies on the Mawat area no one found the true pillow lavas, this is true for the present study. Another feature that contradicts the ophiolite is its overlying by shallow water carbonate and clastic sediments of the Walash-Naoperdan Series and Red Bed Series (Figures 1 and 24). The previous studies supposed that uplift (obduction) of the ophiolite exhume pillow lava and deep oceanic sediments. There are radiolarites in northeast and east of the Mawat ophiolite complex but it has not stratigraphical relations with the rock of the complex (Figures 1 and 24).

Types of the rocks in the Mawat Ophiolite Complex
In the Mawat Ophiolite Complex, if experts mention all the names of previously identified igneous rocks, they are more than ten, in some case in one meter of thickness, several different rocks are observable and they alternated with each other. These rocks are result of diagenesis and metamorphism of complex sediments mixtures of different grain sizes and mineralogy that deposited from several energy regimes and source areas such as felsic and mafic volcanic source area in addition to subsidiary plutonic and limestones sources. These mixtures received additional material from open , at first step took laminations, bedding and alignment of the platy grains parallel to depositional surface (on the sea bottom) during the deposition. In the second step, they are prone to burial and attained more grains alignments (by pressure) in addition to more mineralogical alterations (by diagenetic processes). The burial associated with folding, faulting, fracturing, and entrapment of the seawaters rich in Na, Ca and Mg. In the third step, they metamorphosed differentially and regionally which got main changes of textures, mineralogy of the parent rocks.
The differential metamorphism is due to differences of thermal and mechanical conductivity of different sediments successions, degree of porosity, thickness and mineralogy. Therefore, diagenesis, (during burial and deposition) and metamorphism affected the present rocks in different scale. However, the original beddings, laminations and most of the textures preserved in the present days rocks (Figures 6,7,8,9,17 and 19). Due to these preservations, the rocks of Mawat Ophiolite Complex looks like hornfels that are tens but for local areas, the names such as, phyllite, schist and gneiss are suitable but we propose abandoning using igneous terms because their origins are not igneous although their apparent appearances and mineralogies are similar to igneous rocks. Other terms such as metamorphosed coarse or fine volcaniclastic sandstones (greywackes and arenites), metamorphosed volcaniclastic conglomerate, metamorphosed olivine sandstone (arenite), metamorphosed plagioclase and pyroxene sandstone and others can be used ( Figure 24). These later terms are most correct naming but their acceptance are difficult due to their absence in the previous literatures. The previous tectonic models cannot answer all questions about the origins of all crowded diverse rocks that arranged in successions of thousands of layers in small geographic area. As mentioned in the previous sections, the succession contains relict of planar bedding, erosional surfaces, laminations, crossbedding and small or large channels. Moreover, the grains (texture) show sorting, sub-roundness and abrasion. The best supporting literature to present study is that of Al-Saffi et al. (2012) [43] who published a photo of graded layers (graded bedding) in the gabbro of the Mawat Ophiolite Complex and they attributed them to crystal settling (Figure 25c). However, the present study considers it as sedimentary graded bedding. Another significant property of the complex is tilting of all its layers 30-80 degrees to either northeast or southwest or east or west that similar to bell mouth since nearly all beds dip toward central part of the complex (Figure 24c). This property contradict the ophiolite obduction (thrusting on Arabian Plate) because thrusting of very thick and heavy oceanic floor rocks for long distant and with low titling angle (Figure 27) must give nearly same tilting to the host rock.
The field and office works in addition to literatures reviews (extremely wide age range of rocks) persuaded the present author to propose a new tectonic model of metamorphic core complex ( Figure 24). This model can explain reasons for the mixture of numerous dissimilar sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous-like rocks in highly sheared and uplifted small area.   [44] defined metamorphic core complex as a core of metamorphic rocks (gneisses) cropped out in a window through non-metamorphic rocks (sedimentary rocks) of considerably younger age. These two rock types of the crust (upper and lower crust) are separated by a detachment, which exhibit evidence of significant shear offset. This detachment is brittle, overprinting mylonitic non-coaxial fabrics in the underlying gneissic lower unit. He added the control of the core complex by a low-angle extensional detachment or shear zone that thins the upper plate (hanging wall) so that metamorphic lower-plate rocks ascend isostatically and eventually become exposed at the surface.
These complexes are defined by Lister and Davis (1989) [45] as structure of the crust that are resulted from major extension of continents, when the middle and lower continental crust is pulled out from beneath the fracturing, extending upper crust. Deformed rocks in the footwall are uplifted through a progression of different metamorphic and deformational environments, producing a characteristic sequence of (overprinted) meso-and microstructures. Huet et al. (2011) [46] stated that the genesis of MCCs resulted from a mode of lithospheric continental stretching that follows collision. They added that the rheological layering of the crust (inherited from collision) is a first-order parameter controlling the development of extensional structures in post-orogenic settings.
On the outcrop of the MMCC, we observed wide spread of brittle deformation such as shearing (as polished surfaces and slickensides), brecciation, fracturing and faulting on the micro, meso and large scales (Figures 6a and 13b). Due to these deformations, the complex surrounded nearly from sides by streams such as upstream of Littile Zab River and Qalachuwalan-Mokaba stream ( Figure 24). The ductile deformations are common too in the metamorphosed volcaniclastics sediments that are evident from folding and foliation (Figure13a). The periphery of the complex contains common and extreme sheared rocks that appear as fissile lensoidal chips of hornblende covered by shiny and polished serpentine minerals. These chips show shearing in the scale of millimeters and in some place about 4 meters thick (Figures 1 and 24). These chips manifest brittle brecciation and hydration of the volcaniclastic sandstones of mafic or ultramafic composition by which transformed partially to hornblende and serpentine. In the Qutabiyan Gorge (near Qutanbiyan village), at the southeast boundary of the complex, the thickness of sheared volcaniclastic sandstone is about 100 m and only partially sheared on the scale of decimeters. In microscopic scale, the brittle deformation is very clear in the forms of grain suturing, kink banding, wavy extinction and fossil fracturing and faulting ( Figure 25).
According to these facts, the present study, modified the geological map of the Mawat area by Mehaidi, (1975) [3] and renamed the outcropped rocks ( Figure 24). However, an accurate geological map of the area needs future detail geological fieldworks for plotting the contact of the exposed rocks precisely. Due to vertical uplift of the MMCC, the present study refuses the nappe, presence of ophiolite and the thrust fault changed to reverse faults.
In literature, analogous to the deep root is discussed in detail by Azizi et al. (2013) [10] who refuse nape setting of the Mawat Ophiolite Complex (Mawat Massif) and considered that the Mawat ophiolite developed as an intrusion of mantle plume into an extensional tectonic regime on the thinned lithosphere of the Arabian passive margin (Figure 26). In contrast to Arabian passive,   [47] considered Mawat area as an island arc on the periphery of a back arc basin (Figure 27) while Mohammad and Cornell (2017) [38] imagined the complex as an area of the volcanic Arc and ophiolite obduction ( Figure 28). Karim and Al-Bidry (2020) [40] considered the Mawat area as basin of deep marine sedimentation of volcaniclastic sandstones (greywacke) and finer clastics. Moreover than that,   [48] concluded deep root of Mawat Complex and they stressed on the effect of Main Zagros Thrust on deformation of the complex and its rotation clockwise for about 20 degrees. Therefore, the present study does not ignore more or less modification of the shape and deformations of the Mawat Metamorphic Core Complex by the Main Zagros Thrust (or reverse fault).    [47] in which Mawat area is considered as an island arc on the periphery of back arc basin.

Conclusions
L-Field and lab works failed to find basalts, metabasalt،, metadiabase and plutonic igneous rocks in previous Mawat Ophiolite Complex.
2-All exposed rocks in the complex consist of either fresh volcaniclastics sediments (sandstone, conglomerate, shale, greywakes) and their metamorphosed equivalents rocks.
3-The complex consists of thousands of layers of more than ten rocks which all metamorphosed regionally to green schist and amphibolite facies.
4-In most metamorphosed rocks original sedimentary structures, textures such as planar beddings, laminations, cross beddings and granular textures are preserved 5-Due to preservation of these structures, the metamorphic rocks looks like different types of hornfels, schists and gneisses.
6-All the previously considered dykes are neither dyke nor sill but they are metamorphosed impure limestone or feldspar rich sediments.

7-
The study changed the Mawat Ophiolite Complex to Mawat Metamorphic Core Complex and not proved presence of ophiolite and igneous rocks in Mawat area.
8-The volcaniclastic sediments (greywakes) sourced from remote volcanic source area inside Iran and transported to Mawat area during Paleocene-Eocene by turbidity currents.
9-No evidences of overturning and lateral movement are found.