New York: The wife of a man killed in the September 11 attacks confronted the US government over its handling of Saudi Arabia at the 25th anniversary memorial ceremony at Ground Zero, urging President Donald Trump to pressure Riyadh to acknowledge what she described as the suffering endured by 9/11 families.
Terry Strada, whose husband Tom Strada was killed in the 2001 attacks, accused successive US administrations of protecting Saudi Arabia instead of supporting the families of the victims. Her remarks at the annual remembrance ceremony in Manhattan drew loud applause from those gathered. “For 25 years, administration after administration, including leaders in front of us here today, chose to protect the Saudis instead of standing with the 9/11 families,” Strada said.
Terry Strada Tears Into Administration
Strada, who chairs 9/11 Families United, alleged that US officials had withheld evidence and failed to honour commitments made to the families. She also criticised the handling of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA), which allows victims of terrorism and their families to pursue legal action against foreign states in certain circumstances. “They withheld evidence. They vetoed JASTA. They broke promises, both public and private. It has been one betrayal after another,” she said.
Addressing Trump, Strada urged him to confront Saudi Arabia over its longstanding denials of involvement in the attacks. “Tell them that if they want to be friends with the USA, they cannot continue to deny all of this, all of the pain, all of the destruction that we have all been suffering through,” she said.
She added that Trump could still change the situation and called on Vice President JD Vance, who attended the ceremony, to take the message back to the administration. “Stand with the families, stand with the survivors,” Strada said. “Stand with Americans,” she added.
What Is Saudi Arabia Accused Of?
The question of Saudi Arabia’s alleged links to the 9/11 attacks has remained contentious for years. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were Saudi nationals, but Saudi Arabia has consistently denied involvement in the attacks. The 9/11 Commission’s 2004 report found no evidence that the Saudi government or senior Saudi officials funded al-Qaeda. It concluded that the hijackers were funded by al-Qaeda.
However, allegations concerning possible assistance from individual Saudi nationals or officials have continued. In 2025, a US federal judge allowed a lawsuit brought by 9/11 victims’ families against Saudi Arabia to proceed.
The case focuses on alleged links between Saudi officials or employees and two al-Qaeda operatives who were in the US before the attacks. The ruling allowed the families’ claims to move forward but did not establish that the Saudi government was responsible for the 9/11 attacks.
