Riyadh: A day after the US Congress voted to override President Barack Obama’s veto of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) on relations between states, Saudi Arabia warned of “disastrous consequences”.
JASTA allows attack survivors and relatives of terrorism victims to pursue cases against foreign governments in US federal court and to demand compensation if such governments are proven to bear some responsibility for attacks on US soil. The law would allow 9/11 victims to sue the kingdom. A Saudi foreign ministry source on Thursday called on the US Congress “to take the necessary measures to counter the disastrous and dangerous consequences” of the law.
This law “weakens the immunity of states”, and will have a negative impact on all countries “including the United States,” a Saudi spokesman said, expressing hope that “wisdom will prevail.”
In opposing the law, Obama said it would harm US interests by undermining the principle of sovereign immunity, opening up the US to private lawsuits over its military missions abroad. The erosion of sovereign immunity is also a concern among the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, of which Saudi Arabia is the most powerful member.
Saudi Arabia’s Gulf allies have lined up beside Riyadh to criticise the law.
Analysts earlier Thursday warned that Saudi Arabia could reduce valuable security and intelligence cooperation with longstanding ally Washington after the Congressional “stab in the back.” Cutting such cooperation is among the options available to Riyadh, the analysts said.
Old allies
Riyadh and Washington have a decades-old relationship based on the exchange of American security for Saudi oil.
Saudi Arabia was home to 15 of the 19 Al-Qaeda hijackers who carried out the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States which killed nearly 3,000 people. Riyadh denies any ties to the plotters.
Ties between Riyadh and Washington became increasingly frayed under Obama, but analysts said security cooperation and intelligence sharing remained solid.
A senior Saudi prince reportedly threatened to pull out billions of dollars of US assets if JASTA became law, though Saudi officials have distanced themselves from such threats.
