Prompted by fears of another deadly suicide attack, cranes lowered concrete barricades Wednesday outside a Shiite mosque in Saudi Arabia still reeling from a bombing claimed by the Islamic State group.

The minority Shiite community was preparing to bury four men -- hailed as heroes -- who were blown to bits Friday when they prevented the bomber from entering the hall of the al-Anoud mosque in the Gulf city of Dammam.

Saudi Arabia on Wednesday beheaded two citizens convicted of drug trafficking, bringing to 94 the number of executions carried out in the kingdom so far this year.

Awadh al-Atwi and Mussalam al-Qaraani were executed for trafficking "narcotic pills" and possessing hashish in the ultra-conservative kingdom, said an interior ministry statement carried by the official SPA news agency.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam held talks on Wednesday in Saudi Arabia with King Salman bin Abdul Aziz, who emphasized the need for Lebanese factions to end their country's political deadlock.

King Salman held talks behind doors with Salam, who was accompanied by a ministerial delegation.

Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Awadh Asiri downplayed Wednesday reports that his country froze a grant to the Lebanese army to purchase French weapons.

“The kingdom will not modify, change or back down” on the agreement, Asiri said in comments published in al-Mustaqbal newspaper.

Saudi-led coalition warplanes intensified raids on Yemen's capital Wednesday, as Washington confirmed a top U.S. diplomat had met representatives of Iran-backed rebels to try to revive proposed Geneva peace talks.

The U.N. Security Council appealed for a new humanitarian ceasefire and peace talks as soon as possible to end fighting that has killed at least 2,000 people since March.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam met Wednesday with Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz at his Royal palace in Jeddah.

Saudi King Salman held a meeting behind doors with Salam, who was accompanied by a ministerial delegation.

Saudi Arabia on Tuesday beheaded a man convicted of murdering his wife, along with a Syrian drug smuggler, adding to a toll that activists called a "stain" on the kingdom's rights record.

Authorities executed Saudi national Awad al-Rasheedi following his conviction for stabbing his wife to death, the interior ministry said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.

OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia is forecast to post a budget deficit of 20 percent of gross domestic product because of the sharp decline in oil revenues, the IMF said Tuesday.

"Government spending in 2015 is expected to remain strong, partly due to a number of one-off factors, while oil revenues have declined," an International Monetary Fund team said after visiting the Gulf kingdom.

An American among several believed held by Huthis in Yemen was freed and receiving treatment Tuesday in neighboring Oman, which has been hosting talks between Washington and the Iran-backed Shiite rebels.

A diplomat in Muscat said the talks between the Americans and the Huthis were aimed at promoting a proposed peace conference in Geneva, which the United Nations has so far failed to persuade the warring parties to attend.

A Saudi grant to the Lebanese army to purchase French weapons is reportedly frozen over stances by some Lebanese officials regarding Riyadh's war against Shiite Huthi rebels in Yemen.

French diplomatic sources said in comments published in As Safir newspaper Tuesday that France's chief of Staff General Jean-Pierre Bosser expressed belief that Saudi Arabia is delaying the accomplishment of the second delivery of French arms.