Saudi Arabia executes 2 Bangladeshis over ‘indecent acts,’ and other Mideast news

Saudi Arabia says it has executed 2 Bangladeshi nationals over “indecent acts” inside a mosque in Mecca. Bangladesh said it had not been informed of the executions beforehand.

Meanwhile, Israeli police have arrested 10 suspects in connection of a wave of settler violence, including against a U.S. journalist and European diplomats in the occupied West Bank over the weekend.

Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Monday. Read our full coverage here.

Saudi Arabia executes 2 Bangladeshis over ‘indecent acts’

Saudi Arabia has executed two Bangladeshi nationals after they were convicted of committing indecent acts in a mosque in the Muslim holy city of Mecca.

Bangladesh said it was not informed before the sentences were carried out and has sought information from Saudi Arabia.

The Bangladeshis, a man and a woman, were executed on Wednesday after their death sentences were upheld by the highest court and a royal decree authorized their executions, the Saudi Interior Ministry said.

The statement said they were executed due to “the gravity and seriousness of their actions in violating the sanctity of both time and place.” The ministry did not elaborate.

Bangladeshi foreign ministry official Shama Obaed said her ministry has sent a letter to the Saudi government seeking “detailed information.”

Saudi authorities on Saturday also executed five Saudi nationals who were convicted of terrorism-related charges, the ministry said.

The ministry said the men were charged with joining a foreign terrorist group, opening fire on security forces, possession of weapons and funding terrorist attacks inside Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia is one of the world’s most prolific users of the death penalty, with 356 executions in 2025, behind only China and Iran, according to Amnesty International.

So far this year, the kingdom executed over 170 people, according to the interior ministry.

Israel arrests 10 suspects following settler violence

Ten suspects were arrested on Monday following a string of violent attacks by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank that led to heavy international criticism against Israel, police said.

Israeli police did not identified the suspects or their roles in the attacks, which also targeted Washington Post photographer Heidi Levine and European diplomats. The attacks came during a spike of settler violence during the annual olive harvest.

Levine was beaten Friday by a crowd of young male settlers in the village of Abu Falah, leaving her with several broken ribs and vertebrae. A day later, masked settlers attacked a group of European diplomats and others visiting the Christian village of Taybeh.

Settler violence has surged in recent years, and rights groups say that attackers are rarely arrested or punished for attacks on Palestinians.

Iran will respond forcefully to new U.S. attacks, official says

An adviser to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei says Iran will respond forcefully to any renewed U.S. attack.

Conservative politician Mohammad Mokhber said Iran would strike “nine countries” if Iranian bases or “petrochemical” facilities were struck again.

“If they want to hit a base, we have to hit the bases of nine countries,” he said Monday in recorded comments posted by Tasnim, a semiofficial news agency close with the Revolutionary Guard.

The report did not name the nine countries.

—

This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.