Saudi Arabia Executes Six Iranians for Drug Trafficking; Iran Protests 'Strongly'

The official Saudi news agency reported the execution of six Iranian citizens accused of drug trafficking in the country. The report, published on Wednesday, January 2, did not specify the date of the executions, but according to a statement from the Saudi Ministry of Interior, they were arrested for trafficking hashish in the city of Dammam, located on the shores of the Persian Gulf. CNN Arabic also named the executed Iranians as Jassem Mohammad Shabani, Abdolreza Younes Tanqasiri, Khalil Shahid Samari, Mohammad Javad Abdoljalil, Mehdi Kanaan Ghanemi, and Mohammad Shabani. According to the report, these individuals were arrested by Saudi security forces and after a court issued a death sentence against them, the ruling was confirmed by the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court, leading to their execution. According to the news agency Mizan, Shasti Karimi, the Director General of Consular Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reacted to the news of the execution of six Iranian nationals imprisoned in Saudi Arabia for drug trafficking, announcing Iran's 'strong protest' against this action. He stated that 'these individuals had been sentenced to death by the Saudi judiciary several years ago for drug trafficking, and during this time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs made continuous efforts to provide consular services to them and to reduce the announced punishment. Nevertheless, the execution of sentences, especially without prior notice to the embassy, is absolutely unacceptable and violates international law, including the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.' Shasti Karimi emphasized that the Saudi ambassador in Tehran was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where Iran's strong protest and the inconsistency of this action with the overall judicial cooperation between the two countries were conveyed to him, stressing the necessity of providing necessary explanations in this regard. A legal-consular delegation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is also set to travel to Riyadh to follow up on the issue. The French news agency, citing official statistics, reported that 117 people were executed in Saudi Arabia in 2024. Saudi Arabia executed '330 people' this year. Since 2023, the Saudi authorities have launched a widespread campaign against drugs, including the arrest of a number of suspected individuals, and executions of drug traffickers have increased in the past two years. Saudi Arabia severed its relations with Iran in 2016 after its embassy in Tehran and its consulate in Mashhad were attacked by angry protesters over the execution of Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr. Diplomatic relations between the two countries were restored in March 2023 with China's mediation. Alireza Enayati, Iran's ambassador to Saudi Arabia, announced last year that currently 22 Iranian citizens are imprisoned in Saudi Arabia, most of whom are charged with drug-related offenses. He stated that recently, several Iranian prisoners in Saudi Arabia have been pardoned, and now 22 Iranians remain in prison in the country. The Saudi government has consistently denied allegations of violating international human rights standards, claiming that the purpose of enforcing severe penalties such as executions is to protect national security.