9/11 law 'politically-driven', will lead to nothing, Saudi experts say

Political experts and economist have played down the impact of a recently passed U.S. law allowing families of the victims of the 9/11 attacks to sue Saudi Arabia.

On Wednesday, the Congress overrode U.S. President Barack Obama's veto of the legislation, known as JASTA , which gives families of the 9/11 victims the right to sue Saudi Arabia for any alleged role it may have had in the 9/11 attacks.

Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were Saudi citizens, but no link to the government has been proven. The Saudi government denies any ties to the plotters.

Obama called the vote a "dangerous precedent" while Saudi Arabia warned it risked having "disastrous consequences".

"The law is not directed at Saudi Arabia," Fahd bin Jumaa, a member of the Saudi Shura Council, told Anadolu Agency.

He said there is no evidence in legislation proving Riyadh's alleged involvement in the attacks. "We are a country fighting terrorism. How can we be accused of terror?" he questioned.

The Saudi lawmaker said political considerations were behind the passage of the controversial law-which allows families of terrorism victims to pursue cases against foreign governments in US federal court.

"The Democrats don't want to lose votes in the coming election," he said.

Saudi Arabia has vehemently denied accusations that it backed the 9/11 hijackers. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were from the oil-rich kingdom.

Saudi economist Mohamed Angari said that the passage of the law was "politically-driven", will not be used in any U.S. court and lead to nothing.

However, Angari said that the bill would have negative economic consequences on the U.S.

Saudi Arabia is estimated to have assets worth at least $500 billion in the U.S., including $96.5bn in US treasury debt.

On Thursday, a Saudi foreign ministry source warned of "disastrous consequences" from the controversial U.S. law, according to the official SPA news agency.

The source said the legislation "weakens the immunity of states" and will have a negative impact on all countries "including the United states", calling on the U.S. Congress "to take the necessary measures to counter the disastrous and dangerous consequences" of the bill.

Salman al-Dosary, the editor-in-chief of the Saudi-funded, London-based Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper, warned that the law causes "chaos in the world order".

"What if Saudi Arabia froze anti-terrorism cooperation with the U.S. in response to JASTA. Would Washington be able to fight terrorism without Saudi Arabia?" he questioned on Twitter.

Salman al-Ansari, the head of the Saudi-American Public Relation Affairs Committee (SAPRAC), said a "reciprocal treatment" would defuse the U.S. law.

"[By this], the U.S. could be sued by individuals and U.S. funds will be frozen if necessary," he tweeted.

"The U.S. will use JASTA for blackmailing but the fact is that this law is a weapon without bullets," he said.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also slammed the vote Saturday, saying he expected the move to be reversed as soon as possible.

"The allowing by the US Congress of lawsuits to be opened against Saudi Arabia over the 9/11 attacks is unfortunate," Erdoğan said in a speech for the opening of parliament.

"It's against the principle of individual criminal responsibility for crimes. We expect this false step to be reversed as soon as possible," he added.