###### Abstract  
Several major earthquakes have taken place near the East Anatolian fault zone (EAFZ) in history. Despite extensive research on the Coulomb stress changes associated with these earthquakes, there remains a paucity of studies examining the spatial and temporal distribution of Coulomb stress near the East Anatolian fault zone over extended periods. This study investigates the changes in Coulomb stress induced by significant earthquakes (\(\geq\)6 \(M\)w) near the EAFZ from 1986 to 2023. High-stress changes (1.5-2.5 bar) were observed along the fault's northeastern and southwestern segments, indicating a high likelihood of future seismicity. We also found that the three major earthquakes between 1986 and 2003 had little impact on subsequent major seismic events in the vicinity. However, the 2020 \(M\)w 6.8 earthquake generated a Coulomb stress increment exceeding 0.1 bar, which influenced nearby seismic activity for two years. This suggests that the 2023 major earthquakes were likely facilitated by this stress change. Parameter sensitivity analysis shows fault strikes significantly affect calculations, highlighting the importance of accurate source mechanisms for reliable results. The findings of this study offer critical insights for seismologists and geophysicists aiming to refine earthquake-triggering models and stress transfer mechanisms. Civil engineers and urban planners can utilize the identified high-stress zones to prioritize seismic retrofitting of infrastructure. c 2025 15 2759 10 February 2025 12 February 2025 12 February 2025 10 February 2025 10 February 2025 12 February 20  
effective methods to assess seismic hazards. Coulomb stress changes (\(\Delta CFS\)) are considered to be an important factor influencing seismic activity [7]. Therefore, we want to evaluate the Coulomb stress changes near the EAFZ to achieve an accurate understanding of the seismic risk in this area. When stress accumulates on a fault and exceeds a certain threshold, it leads to rupture deformation and initiates seismic activity. Following an earthquake event, the surrounding stress conditions undergo readjustment. While stresses in the Earth's crust are generally alleviated following an earthquake, there are instances where stresses in specific regions intensify, ultimately leading to fault destabilization and rupture in those areas [8]. This phenomenon, known as stress triggering [9], occurs especially when an earthquake promotes subsequent seismic events due to elastic dislocations during the coseismic rupture phase [10]. Elastic dislocations caused by earthquakes, viscoelastic relaxation due to sliding, and stress changes from tectonic movements all contribute to the triggering of subsequent seismic activity [11]. Extensive research has focused on how static Coulomb stress alterations caused by earthquakes influence subsequent fault ruptures. [PERSON] initially investigated the influence of stresses generated by the main rupture on aftershocks using dislocation theory [12]. Using the Coulomb failure criterion, [PERSON] and [PERSON] investigated how co-seismic static Coulomb stress changes trigger subsequent earthquakes in nearby areas [13]. Subsequently, [PERSON] and [PERSON] applied a similar methodology to investigate the connection between static stress triggering and the 1979 Homestead Valley mainshock and its aftershocks in California [14]. According to their findings, most aftershocks centered in regions where the primary shock caused a significant increase in static Coulomb stress. However, the seismological community did not highlight the significance of static stress-triggered effects on the surrounding stress field because the magnitude of static Coulomb stress changes from previous studies was significantly smaller than that of the Stress Drop [15]. In their analysis of the effects of static Coulomb stress on the 1992 7.3 \(M\)w Landers earthquake on the San Andreas Fault, [PERSON] et al. emphasized the part foreshocks play in causing the mainshock and the mainshock's subsequent effect on aftershocks [16].