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Cenozoic tectono-magmatism in Iran is widely considered to be related to subduction of the Neo-Tethys Ocean. We employed whole-rock and mineral geochemistry and isotopic data of intrusive rocks from Tafresh, central Urumieh-Dokhtar magmatic arc, to evaluate the role of the mantle in magmatism, to assess the timing of emplacement, and to interpret the tectonic setting. Rock compositions range from gabbro or gabbro-diorite (plagioclase + pyroxene ± olivine), to diorite (plagioclase + amphibole ± pyroxene), to granodiorite (quartz + plagioclase + K-feldspar + amphibole + biotite), exhibiting high-alumina calc-alkaline affinity. Major oxide and trace element variations vary systematically from less to more evolved rocks suggesting a major role for fractional crystallization processes. Zircon LA-ICP-MS U–Pb ages of major rock types are in the range of 24–19 Ma, whereas those of gabbroic dikes are ~17.5 Ma. ԐNd values range between -1.8 and 3.7, and (87Sr/86Sr)i is narrowly restricted to 0.705–0.706, suggesting a common mantle source. The enrichment in light rare earth element (REE) enrichment and flat heavy REE patterns couple depletion of Nb–Ta–Ti indicate that subducting oceanic crust had interacted with the overlying mantle wedge. High-alumina, mid-Mg# Tafresh plutonic rocks formed from hydrous melts from which Ca-pyroxene and magnetite crystallized earlier than plagioclase, whereas late-crystallizing zircon nucleated while magma traversed through lithospheric mantle and Cadomian crust. Modelling of isotope and incompatible-element patterns suggests the contribution of no more than ~5% molten sediment or other crustal components in Tafresh magma, at a developmental stage before most plagioclase and amphibole had crystallized. The Miocene Tafresh plutons originated during the final stages of subduction, before the collision between the Arabian and Eurasian plates.