Flowers are left at the memorial during the 25th anniversary commemoration of the September 11, 2001 attacks at the National September 11 Memorial in New York on September 11, 2026. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP)
Relatives of those killed in the 9/11 attacks on Friday called out Saudi Arabia for alleged complicity in the carnage — and chided past US presidents in attendance at a remembrance ceremony for failing to call Riyadh to account.
The September 11, 2001 attacks were carried out by mostly Saudi hijackers and orchestrated by mastermind Osama bin Laden, a wealthy Saudi who founded Al-Qaeda. Washington maintains strong military and diplomatic ties with the kingdom.
The annual reading of the names of the victims at the National 9/11 Memorial in New York is a sombre ceremony and is usually entirely apolitical, making the comments especially jarring.
“You are missed more with each year that passes, but how can it be 25 years and still we have no justice for the role that Saudi Arabia played in your murder?” Tom Strada’s widow Terry, the national chair of 9/11 Families United, said in her remarks.
