Saudi Arabia to be cleared in 9/11 report, CIA chief says

Saudi Arabia will be absolved from any responsibility in the September 11 attacks on the United States (US), when classified pages of a congressional report are published soon, John Brennan, director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) told Al Arabiya on Saturday.

“The Sep. 11 commission looked very thoroughly at these allegations of Saudi involvement, Saudi government involvement and their finding, their conclusion was that there was no evidence to indicate that the Saudi government as an institution or Saudi senior officials individually had supported Sep. 11 attacks,” said Brennan.

The 28-page section of the 9/11 report was said to be key in determining whether Saudi Arabia played a role in the attacks. However, Brennan described the section as merely a "preliminary review."

Last month, the US Senate unanimously passed the controversial Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, which would enable families of 9/11 victims to sue the Saudi government for damages.

If it becomes law, the bill will remove sovereign immunity – which protects governments from lawsuits – for countries found to be involved in terrorist attacks on American soil.

The Saudi government has denied providing any support for the 19 hijackers – most of whom were Saudi citizens – who killed close to 3,000 people in the attacks.

In April, the kingdom said it would sell up to $750 billion in US securities and other American assets if the bill became law.