The head of the Saudi-dominated Gulf Cooperation Council, Abdullatif al-Zayani, said in a statement that the legislation runs against the principles of global law and sets a unsafe precedent for foreign relations.
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The United Arab Emirates, which has the second-largest economy in the GCC after Saudi Arabia, issued its own statement echoing the Gulf bloc’s concerns Monday.
“Such laws will negatively affect the global efforts and worldwide cooperation to combat terrorism”, Al-Zayani said.
“This law is not equal with the foundations and principles of relations among states, and represents a clear violation given its negative repercussions and risky precedents”, said Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the federation’s foreign minister.
He said the legislation would have negative repercussions on relations among countries and harm worldwide economic norms.
Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., one of the authors of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, said he was “pleased” the House had “taken this huge step forward towards justice” and said he hoped the Obama administration would not veto the bill. The White House has said that Mr Obama would veto the bill.
The bipartisan bill gained final approval Friday in the House. “I do anticipate the president would veto this legislation”. Votes from two-thirds of the members in the House and Senate would be needed to override.
It is unclear what the effect on the already strained US-Saudi relationship would be if the bill became law, but Saudi officials have reportedly warned that they would liquidate their US assets to shield them from legal action.
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Saudi Arabia is a longstanding USA ally but it was also home to 15 of the 19 Al-Qaeda hijackers who carried out the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States which killed almost 3,000 people.
