The Saudi Arabian government has threatened to sell of hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of American assets should the US Congress pass a bill that could hold the kingdom responsible for any role in the September 11, 2001 attacks, the New York Times reported.
The newspaper reported that Saudi foreign minister Adel Al Jubeir told US lawmakers last month that "Saudi Arabia would be forced to sell up to $750 billion in Treasury securities and other assets in the US before they could be in danger of being frozen by American courts."
The bill, which passed the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this year, would take away immunity from foreign governments in cases "arising from a terrorist attack that kills an American on American soil."
The New York Times, citing administration officials and congressional aides, said "the Saudi threats have been the subject of intense discussions in recent weeks between lawmakers and officials from the State Department and the Pentagon."
It added that the Obama administration had lobbied Congress to block the passage of the bill.
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