Saudi Arabia says it has executed six Iranian men over drug smuggling, sparking strong objections from Iran at a time when the two countries are trying to mend relations.

Tensions resurface in the Middle East as Iran summons Saudi Arabia’s ambassador in a heated diplomatic protest. Accusations of violations and unresolved grievances hint at cracks in their fragile reconciliation.

The Saudi trip comes amid a wider reset of ties since last month’s overthrow of longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad, who was isolated from many other Gulf nations due to Assad’s human rights abuses during the Syrian civil war. Instead, Damascus relied heavily in later years on Riyadh’s regional rival, Iran.

A high-level delegation from Syria's transitional government visited Saudi Arabia on Thursday, marking their first foreign trip and signalling a warming of ties with the oil-rich monarchy. The team, including Syria's newly appointed Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani,

Last month, a Saudi delegation met Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus, a source close to the Saudi government told AFP at the time. Sharaa heads the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group that led the rebel offensive that ousted Assad on December 8.