Home / ِArab News / Saudi Arabia “could reduce security cooperation” with Washington

Saudi Arabia “could reduce security cooperation” with Washington

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 19: (L-R) Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), Center for the National Interest Vice Chairman Dov Zakheim and Sen. Chris Murphy sit at the head of the table to discuss legislation to halt the sale of some weapons to Saudi Arabia at the center September 19, 2016 in Washington, DC. After the Department of Defense announced the sale of $1.5 billion of arms to Saudi Arabia, Senators Paul, Murphy, Al Franken (D-MN) and Mike Lee (R-UT) are attempting to block the sale by using a provision of the Arms Export Control Act of 1976 that "provides for special procedures whereby a senator can force a vote on an arms sale by the president." Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/AFP

Saudi Arabia could reduce valuable security and intelligence cooperation with longstanding ally Washington after a Congressional “stab in the back” allowing 9/11 victims to sue the kingdom, experts warn.

Cutting such cooperation is among the options available to Riyadh after Congress voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to override President Barack Obama’s veto of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA).

“I’m afraid that this bill will have dire strategic implications” for the United States, Salman al-Ansari, the president of the Saudi American Public Relation Affairs Committee (SAPRAC), told AFP.

“This partnership has helped provide US authorities with accurate intelligence information” that helped stopped attacks, said Ansari, whose committee is a private initiative to strengthen Saudi-US ties.