Iran summoned Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Tehran to strongly condemn the death of six Iranian citizens in the Arab country for alleged drug trafficking.

Karimi Shasati, Director General of the Consular Affairs Office at the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated that the ambassador had received a formal note of severe protest from the Islamic Republic, informing him that the killings were inconsistent with the general trajectory of judicial cooperation involving Iran and Saudi Arabia, underlining the necessity for an explanation.

Shasati explained how “These individuals had been sentenced to death by the Saudi judiciary several years ago on drug trafficking charges. During this time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs made continuous efforts to provide consular services to them and seek to commute their sentences."

To carry out the killings without prior warning to the Iranian embassy is "completely unacceptable" and a breach of international legal rules, particularly the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, he said.

The official further stated that a legal and consular mission from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will fly to Riyadh to follow up on the situation.