9/11 Families Still Waiting on Saudi Accountability

Real Clear World
By Terry Strada
Nov 11, 2025

Later this month, President Trump will welcome Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — known as MbS — to Washington. The red carpet will surely be rolled out for the de facto ruler and his entourage, complete with handshakes, smiles, and lofty talk of “shared interests.” Reports suggest the two leaders will discuss a new defense pact, trade agreements, nuclear cooperation, and even potential normalization of relations with Israel.

But while the cameras flash and the pageantry unfolds, the 9/11 community continues its long and difficult pursuit of truth and accountability from that very same Kingdom.

Last year, in a federal courtroom in New York, Judge George Daniels heard oral arguments in Saudi Arabia’s renewed motion to dismiss the 9/11 families’ civil lawsuit accusing the Kingdom of providing material support to al Qaeda in the years leading up to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Hundreds of 9/11 family members filled the courtroom and overflow rooms; a thousand more dialed in remotely to hear the arguments.

Thirteen months later, Judge Daniels rendered a devastating blow to the Kingdom when he issued his ruling against the Kingdom, finding that our case — brought under the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) — has sufficient merit to proceed to trial.

This was an historic affirmation that the 9/11 families’ evidence, amassed over years of investigation, points to real and troubling connections between Saudi government officials, imams, state-run institutions and the 19 Islamist hijackers who murdered nearly 3,000 innocent Americans. Among those killed was my husband, Tom Strada, who was working in the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

The Kingdom knows our lawsuit lays out in painstaking detail how elements of the Saudi government provided funding, logistical help, and ideological support to al Qaeda and its operatives inside the United States prior to the attacks. So, it has done everything possible to avoid accountability. Time and again, Saudi Arabia has filed motions to dismiss, delaying justice for thousands of families. At the same time, it has spent millions of dollars on K Street lobbyists and PR firms to pressure members of Congress and successive U.S. administrations to look the other way. That is not the behavior of an ally. It is the behavior of a government desperate to conceal the truth.

Now, as the Trump administration considers a new defense pact and potential nuclear cooperation with Saudi Arabia, Americans should ask a hard but necessary question: Should the United States really enter into a defense pact — or even share nuclear technology — with a government that stands accused of helping those who carried out the deadliest terrorist attack in our nation’s history?

The answer, for the families of September 11, is painfully clear.

We are not calling for isolation or hostility — we are calling for honesty. The U.S.–Saudi relationship must be grounded in truth. Any new agreement with the Kingdom must first acknowledge the ongoing litigation and the evidence of Saudi involvement in the 9/11 attacks. It must also ensure that justice for nearly 3,000 murdered Americans and injured survivors is not sacrificed on the altar of political convenience.

Twenty-four years after September 11, we still live with the pain of that day. The loss, the unanswered questions, and the long road to accountability are ever-present. The least our government can do is stand with its own citizens before standing with those who helped bring that pain to our shores.

Before we talk about defense pacts or nuclear technology, let us first talk about justice.

Terry Strada is National Chair of 9/11 Families United

Read the full article from Real Clear World HERE.