Saudi Arabia executes six Iranian drug offenders

Saudi Arabia has executed six Iranian-flagged drug offenders, AFP reported.

Citing Saudi's state-run SPA news agency, the agency said the Saudi Interior Ministry executed the executions of Iranians who smuggled concentrated hemp into Saudi Arabia without giving a date.

Saudi Arabia, the largest drug market in the Middle East, has been plagued by drug smuggling linked to pro-Iranian militants, especially in Syria and elsewhere.

Saudi Arabia once suspended executions of drug offenders due to international criticism before resuming them in November 2022.

Saudi Arabia is the third-highest executioner after China and Iran, according to human rights groups.

The AFP said Saudi executions jumped from 170 in 2022 to at least 338 last year, with 129 foreigners and 117 drug offenders among those executed last year.

Iran's foreign ministry said it called in the Saudi ambassador to strongly protest the execution of its citizens, saying it violated international law.