Since the
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
in 2001, allegations of
Saudi government involvement in the attacks have been made, with
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
regularly denying such claims.
The ''
9/11 Commission Report
''The 9/11 Commission Report'', officially the ''Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States'', is the official report into the events leading up to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. It was prep ...
'', issued by the
9/11 Commission
The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, commonly known as the 9/11 Commission, was set up on November 27, 2002, to investigate all aspects of the September 11 attacks, the deadliest terrorist attack in world history ...
on July 22, 2004, "found no evidence that the Saudi government as an institution or senior Saudi officials individually funded
Al-Qaeda
, image = Flag of Jihad.svg
, caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions
, founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden
, leaders = {{Plainlist,
* Osama bin Lad ...
" to conspire in the attacks, or that it funded the attackers; however, according to the BBC, the report identified Saudi Arabia as the primary funding location for Al-Qaeda, and that 15 of the
19 hijackers were Saudi citizens.
In 2012, the FBI stated that it had evidence that Saudi diplomat Fahad al-Thumairy, a Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs official and radical cleric who served at the
King Fahd Mosque in Los Angeles, and
Omar al-Bayoumi
Omar al-Bayoumi () is a Saudi Arabia, Saudi national with alleged links to two of the September 11 attacks, 9/11 hijackers in the United States, Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar. There are conflicting views of al-Bayoumi's role.
The 9/11 Commi ...
(OAB), a suspected Saudi government agent, had supported the 9/11 hijackers. In 2021, the FBI stated that Omar al-Bayoumi was a Saudi intelligence agent with ties to 9/11 hijackers
Nawaf al-Hazmi
Nawaf Muhammad Salim al-Hazmi (; 9 August 1976 – 11 September 2001)''9/11 Commission Report'', 9/11 Commission, p. 166 was a Saudi terrorist hijacker who was one of five Organizers of the September 11 attacks, hijackers of American Airlines Fli ...
and
Khalid al-Mihdhar
Khalid Muhammad Abdallah al-Mihdhar (; also transliterated as AL Mihdhar; 16 May 1975 – 11 September 2001) was a Saudi terrorist hijacker. He was one of the five hijackers of American Airlines Flight 77, which was flown into the Pentagon as ...
when they initially entered into the US. In 2022, the FBI stated that "there is a 50/50 chance al-Bayoumi had advanced knowledge the 9/11 attacks were to occur". Al-Bayoumi also helped the hijackers find housing in
San Diego
San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
. Al-Bayoumi stated that he simply befriended the hijackers and also denied being a Saudi government agent. The Saudi government also denied that Al-Bayoumi was an agent.
The Saudi government had broad immunity from lawsuits in the US under the
Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act until it was amended in 2016 by the
Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA). In 2018 a federal judge ruled that a lawsuit brought forward by survivors of, and the families of victims of, the 9/11 attacks, had "a reasonable basis" under JASTA and allowed it to move forward.
["Saudi Arabia must face U.S. lawsuits over Sept. 11 attacks"](_blank)
''Reuters''. Retrieved 2018-11-22.
Investigations and reports
''2004 – 9/11 Commission Report''
The
9/11 Commission
The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, commonly known as the 9/11 Commission, was set up on November 27, 2002, to investigate all aspects of the September 11 attacks, the deadliest terrorist attack in world history ...
's final report, the ''
9/11 Commission Report
''The 9/11 Commission Report'', officially the ''Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States'', is the official report into the events leading up to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. It was prep ...
'', published in July 2004 at the request of
Bush administration and the
U.S Congress, concluded that there was "no evidence" linking Saudi Arabian government or its senior officials to the
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
.
The Commission noted the presence of numerous private donors and sources of fundraising in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf States for Al-Qaeda before 9/11.
April 2016 – The 28 pages
The alleged Saudi role in the
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
gained new attention after
Bob Graham
Daniel Robert Graham (November 9, 1936 – April 16, 2024) was an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 38th List of governors of Florida, governor of Florida from 1979 to 1987 and a United States Senate, United States senat ...
and
Porter Goss, former U.S. congressmen and co-chairmen of the
congressional inquiry into the attacks, told
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
in April 2016 that
the redacted 28 pages of the congressional inquiry's
report
A report is a document or a statement that presents information in an organized format for a specific audience and purpose. Although summaries of reports may be delivered orally, complete reports are usually given in the form of written documen ...
refer to evidence of
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
's substantial involvement in the execution of the attacks, and calls renewed to have the redacted pages released.
The panel's findings 'did not discover' any role by 'senior, high-level' Saudi government officials, but the "commission's narrow wording", according to critics, suggests the possibility that "less senior officials or parts of the Saudi government could have played a role".
Florida
Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
Democratic Senator Bob Graham, who chaired the
United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
The United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (sometimes referred to as the Intelligence Committee or SSCI) is dedicated to overseeing the United States Intelligence Community—the agencies and bureaus of the federal government of ...
at the time of the report said in his sworn statements that "there was evidence of support from the Saudi government for the terrorists."
In 2017 a New York lawyer, Jim Kreindler, said that he had found "a link between Saudi officials and the hijackers."
July 2016 – File 17
In July 2016, the U.S. government released a document, compiled by Dana Lesemann and Michael Jacobson, known as "File 17", which contains a list naming three dozen people, including Fahad al-Thumairy, Omar al-Bayoumi, Osama Bassnan, and Mohdhar Abdullah, which connects Saudi Arabia to the hijackers. According to the former Democratic US Senator
Bob Graham
Daniel Robert Graham (November 9, 1936 – April 16, 2024) was an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 38th List of governors of Florida, governor of Florida from 1979 to 1987 and a United States Senate, United States senat ...
, "Much of the information upon which File 17 was written was based on what's in the 28 pages."
2017 'dry-run' lawsuit
According to the ''
New York Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative
daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...
'' in 2017, the
Saudi embassy in Washington DC was accused of performing a "dry run" by paying two Saudi nationals, al-Qudhaeein and Hamdan al-Shalawi, "living undercover in the US as students, to fly from
Phoenix to
Washington," two years before the attacks.
According to journalist Rachael Revesz, "evidence submitted" to a lawsuit against the Saudi government claimed that the Saudi embassy in Washington DC may have funded flights to these students in 1999 to research about the flight deck security. Specifically, the suit, citing the FBI documents, alleges the Saudi government funded two individuals who asked flight attendants technical questions and tried to enter the cockpit of a domestic flight in the US, which caused the flight to make an emergency landing in Ohio and the individuals to be interrogated by the FBI. The two individuals were later released after initial interrogation by the FBI.
Mentioning FBI documents, the complaint alleged that the students were part of a network of Saudi Arabian agents in the US, and "participated in the terrorist conspiracy". The documents stated that Qudhaeein and Shalawi were trained in Afghanistan at the same time with some other al-Qaeda operatives that participated in the 9/11 attacks and that "both worked for and received money from the Saudi government, with Qudhaeein employed at the Ministry of Islamic Affairs."
2020 FBI file release
In April 2020, the FBI neglected to redact one of the several instances of the Saudi diplomat name, Mussaed Ahmed al-Jarrah (MAJ), in a court filing in the lawsuit brought by 9/11 families. Over the course of 1999–2000 MAJ was a mid-level
Saudi Foreign Ministry official who was working in the Saudi Embassy in Washington, DC. Former embassy officials said MAJ reported to the Saudi ambassador to the U.S,
Prince Bandar, and managed employees of the
Ministry of Islamic Affairs A Ministry of Islamic Affairs is a Ministry found in certain Islamic countries that is responsible for advising the government on religious matters, and particularly on efforts to conform government efforts to the requirements of Islam.
Examples i ...
at Saudi-funded mosques and Islamic centers.
[The Independent, May 14, 2020]
Saudi Official Tied to 9/11 Attacks Accidentally Identified by the FBI: 'Third Man' Named in Document Explaining Why Government Can't Reveal Its Secrets"
/ref>[Yahoo News, May 12, 202]
/ref>
The October 2012 FBI update to the FBI's own investigation of possible Saudi involvement in the 9/11 attacks stated that FBI agents had uncovered evidence that Saudi diplomat Fahad al-Thumairy, a Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs official and radical cleric who served as the imam of the King Fahd Mosque in Los Angeles, and Omar al-Bayoumi
Omar al-Bayoumi () is a Saudi Arabia, Saudi national with alleged links to two of the September 11 attacks, 9/11 hijackers in the United States, Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar. There are conflicting views of al-Bayoumi's role.
The 9/11 Commi ...
(OAB) a suspected Saudi government agent, had been tasked to support the 9/11 hijackers by another individual; referred to as MAJ, whose name was redacted in the October 2012 update document in all but one instance. FBI agents suspected that MAJ had directed crucial support towards two of 9/11 hijackers; Khalid al-Mihdhar
Khalid Muhammad Abdallah al-Mihdhar (; also transliterated as AL Mihdhar; 16 May 1975 – 11 September 2001) was a Saudi terrorist hijacker. He was one of the five hijackers of American Airlines Flight 77, which was flown into the Pentagon as ...
and Nawaf al-Hazmi
Nawaf Muhammad Salim al-Hazmi (; 9 August 1976 – 11 September 2001)''9/11 Commission Report'', 9/11 Commission, p. 166 was a Saudi terrorist hijacker who was one of five Organizers of the September 11 attacks, hijackers of American Airlines Fli ...
, who participated on 9/11 in the hijacking of American Airlines Flight 77
American Airlines Flight 77 was a scheduled domestic transcontinental passenger flight from Dulles International Airport in Northern Virginia to Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles. The Boeing 757-200 aircraft serving the flig ...
. After Khalid al-Mihdhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi arrived in Los Angeles on January 15, 2000; FBI agents suspected that they were allegedly assisted by Saudi diplomat Fahad al-Thumairy and by OAB, with OAB finding them an apartment, lending them money and setting them up with bank accounts. According to a sworn statement from former LA-based FBI agent Catherine Hunt; during the investigation by the 9/11 Commission
The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, commonly known as the 9/11 Commission, was set up on November 27, 2002, to investigate all aspects of the September 11 attacks, the deadliest terrorist attack in world history ...
the FBI believed that MAJ was engaged in supporting and maintaining al-Thumairy.
On September 11, 2020, US Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn ordered two members of the Saudi royal family, including Prince Bandar bin Sultan, to answer questions raised by the 9/11 lawsuit. The victims have called it a turning point in a long-running lawsuit. Relatives of the September 11 attack
The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
victims claim that the agents of Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
knowingly supported al-Qaeda
, image = Flag of Jihad.svg
, caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions
, founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden
, leaders = {{Plainlist,
* Osama bin Lad ...
and its leader Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden (10 March 19572 May 2011) was a militant leader who was the founder and first general emir of al-Qaeda. Ideologically a pan-Islamist, Bin Laden participated in the Afghan ''mujahideen'' against the Soviet Union, and support ...
, before hijacking and crashing the planes into New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
's World Trade Center Twin Towers.
2021 FBI file release
On September 11, 2021, following an executive order by Joe Biden
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
, the FBI started releasing a series of redacted documents which were related to alleged links of Saudi officials to 9/11 attacks, over a period of six months.
The first of these documents, a 16-page FBI report dated to 2016, is heavily redacted. The document found no evidence linking the Saudi government to the September 11 attacks. The document asserted that Omar al-Bayoumi
Omar al-Bayoumi () is a Saudi Arabia, Saudi national with alleged links to two of the September 11 attacks, 9/11 hijackers in the United States, Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar. There are conflicting views of al-Bayoumi's role.
The 9/11 Commi ...
was a frequent visitor to the Saudi Consulate in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
who had provided "significant logistical support" and financial assistance to 9/11 hijackers Nawaf al-Hazmi
Nawaf Muhammad Salim al-Hazmi (; 9 August 1976 – 11 September 2001)''9/11 Commission Report'', 9/11 Commission, p. 166 was a Saudi terrorist hijacker who was one of five Organizers of the September 11 attacks, hijackers of American Airlines Fli ...
and Khalid al-Mihdhar
Khalid Muhammad Abdallah al-Mihdhar (; also transliterated as AL Mihdhar; 16 May 1975 – 11 September 2001) was a Saudi terrorist hijacker. He was one of the five hijackers of American Airlines Flight 77, which was flown into the Pentagon as ...
upon their arrival in the US.
Welcoming the release of the document, the Saudi Embassy in Washington DC issued a statement: "No evidence has ever emerged to indicate that the Saudi government or its officials had previous knowledge of the terrorist attack or were in any way involved in its planning or execution.. Any allegation that Saudi Arabia is complicit in the September 11 attacks is categorically false".
2022 FBI file release
The United States Justice Department admitted on March 10 that it would miss a deadline specified by President Joe Biden's executive order to examine and reveal records from the FBI's investigation into the attack.
In March 2022, the FBI declassified a 510-page report about 9/11 that it produced in 2017. The report found that "there is a 50/50 chance al-Bayoumi had advanced knowledge the 9/11 attacks were to occur," from the two Islamists he befriended that were involved in plotting 9/11. Al-Bayoumi also helped the Islamists find housing in San Diego
San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
. In response, 9/11 Commission
The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, commonly known as the 9/11 Commission, was set up on November 27, 2002, to investigate all aspects of the September 11 attacks, the deadliest terrorist attack in world history ...
chairman and former New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
governor
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
Tom Kean said that "If that's true I'd be upset by it", adding, "The FBI said it wasn't withholding anything and we believed them."
Al-Bayoumi stated that he didn't know anything about the hijackers' plans and just befriended them after randomly meeting them. Saudi Arabia stated that al-Bayoumi was not an agent of theirs.
Aftermath
The Saudi government has long denied any connection. Relatives of victims have tried to use the courts to hold Saudi royals, banks, or charities responsible, but these efforts have been thwarted partly by the 1976 Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. According to Gawdat Bahgat, a professor of political science, following the September 11 attacks the so-called "Saudi policy of promoting terrorism and funding hatred" faced strong criticism by several "influential policy-makers and think-tanks in Washington".
According to Caleb Hanna, the US government collaborated with Saudi Arabia in suppressing the revelation of evidence related to alleged Saudi links to the attacks, denying FOIA requests and allegedly supplying inside information to the lawyers representing the Saudis involved. Bob Graham
Daniel Robert Graham (November 9, 1936 – April 16, 2024) was an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 38th List of governors of Florida, governor of Florida from 1979 to 1987 and a United States Senate, United States senat ...
characterised the strategy as not a 'cover up' but "aggressive deception".
JASTA
In March 2016, Saudi Arabia threatened the Obama administration to sell US$750 billion worth of American assets owned by Saudi Arabia if the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) designed to create an exception to the 1976 Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act was enacted, which caused fears of destabilizing the US dollar.[ U.S. president ]Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
also warned against "unintended consequence
In the social sciences, unintended consequences (sometimes unanticipated consequences or unforeseen consequences, more colloquially called knock-on effects) are outcomes of a purposeful action that are not intended or foreseen. The term was po ...
s", while other economic analysts believed that this action would damage the Saudi government.
In March 2018, a US judge allowed a suit to move forward against Saudi Arabia brought by 9/11 survivors and victims' families, that the government should pay billions of dollars in damages to victims. The lawsuit is still ongoing as of 2024.
Operation Encore
Operation Encore was a secret FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
investigation launched in 2007 to investigate the alleged links of Saudi officials to the September 11 hijackers. According to ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', "circumstantial evidence" was uncovered but no direct links were established. Potential leads were not initially pursued and some FBI agents believe that the CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
interfered with its attempt to place two Saudis under surveillance.
See also
* Saudi Arabia and state-sponsored terrorism
* Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act
* Zacarias Moussaoui
Zacarias Moussaoui (, '; born 30 May 1968) is a French member of al-Qaeda who pleaded guilty in a U.S. federal court to conspiring to kill citizens of the United States as part of the 9/11 attacks. He is serving life imprisonment without the ...
References
{{Saudi Arabia–United States relations
2016 in Saudi Arabia
2016 in the United States
Allegations
Presidency of Barack Obama
September 11 attacks
Obama administration controversies
Controversies in Saudi Arabia
2016 controversies in the United States
9/11 conspiracy theories
Saudi Arabia–United States relations