Saudi Arabia has warned of selling $750 billion worth of American assets if Congress approves a bill that would allow 9/11 victims to sue the kingdom over suspicions of supporting the attacks, as first reported by the New York Times.
If the bill is passed, it will extend nations' jurisdiction past their sovereign borders, making the countries liable to be sued by each other.
Secretary of State John Kerry had earlier said that the bill, if passed, could also "expose the United States of America to lawsuits and take away our sovereign immunity and create a terrible precedent."
The Obama administration is now pushing the Congress to block the bill, cautioning the senators of the severe economic and diplomatic fallout.
The bill was co-sponsored by Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and John Cornyn (R-Texas), and permits families of 9/11 victims to file lawsuits against foreign governments suspected to be involved in the attacks.
Adel al-Jubeir, Saudi Foreign Minister, told the US government that the country will sell treasury securities and other assets before they can be frozen by any impending lawsuits.
Former Florida Senator Bob Graham who co-chairs the 9/11 congressional committee said that he was "outraged but not surprised" by Saudi government's threat.
The threat comes ahead of President Obama's meeting with King Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud in Riyadh on Wednesday.
Fifteen out of 19 men who hijacked four planes and collided into the US targets in 2001 were Saudi citizens, although no connection was established between the attackers and government of the kingdom.
A US commission that had investigated the attacks also concluded that there was no involvement of Saudi government. However, another 28-page commission report on 9/11 attacks remains classified, and was rumored to have shown the kingdom's links with the terrorists.
Saudi officials urged the US government to release the documents in 2003, so that they could have a chance to defend themselves against the claims. But the Bush administration did not disclose the documents on grounds of national security. Obama continued with the same policy during his presidency.
The president is expected to take a decision on declassifying the documents in the next two months.
Graham said that he anticipates the declassification of the US commission report on 9/11 by June, which may name two Saudi government officials living in US to have provided assistance to the attackers. The 9/11 bill, if approved, would take away immunity from foreign governments if their officials are found to be complacent in the terrorist attacks on US soil.
A senior administration official spoke with CNN about the possibility of the President vetoing the legislation, saying that "rather than entertain a hypothetical, we believe there needs to be more careful consideration of the potential unintended consequences of its enactment before proceeding with legislation."
