As the link from Petra said, the Iran quake is pure strike-slip. The ground motion from a thrust quake is usually greater, at least in the hanging-wall of the quake, than is the case for strike slip. For the California quake, it looks like Paso Robles is in the hanging-wall (the block above the fault). For the Iran quake, the fault is vertical, so there is not a block above the fault. The difference between the 2 deaths in California and the 5000 to 20000 in Iran are:
Construction
population (more people close to quake in Iran).

It will be interesting to see what the strong ground motion is in each, but there may be no close-in instruments in either location. It may also be interesting to see if there are any site effects like uncompacted soil.....I don't think there is a deep basin at Paso Robles...Chris