Execution of Iranian prisoners in S. Arabia on hold: Iranian official

TEHRAN, April 23 (MNA) – Saudi Arabia has put on hold the execution of eight Iranian nationals being held in a prison in the Saudi city of Dammam, who had been sentenced to death for involvement in drug trafficking, Iranian deputy foreign minister for parliamentary and consular affairs announced on Sunday. Hassan Qashqavi told the Mehr News Agency that Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal, during a recent telephone conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi, said that the execution of the sentences had been put on hold. The Iranian Foreign Ministry had previously sought an explanation from the Saudi Arabian ambassador over the worrying reports on the fate of Iranian inmates being held in the Saudi kingdom.