A quarter of a century after the day that changed the course of history, the day of the attacks of September 11, 2001, attention is now turning to an issue that may be considered one of the most sensitive issues in relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia. This is after the US Central Intelligence Agency revealed in September 2026 dozens of declassified documents received by Al-Qaeda and its leader Osama bin Laden before the attacks. Some of these documents have brought to the surface old questions about Saudi Arabia's supposed role in these attacks.

Published on: 09/29/2026 - 20:47 Last updated: 09/30/2026 - 12:09

On September 11, 2026, the US Central Intelligence Agency declassified hundreds of documents related to the attacks of September 11, 2001. These relate to 71 reports submitted to former US presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, related to the attacks.

These documents do not provide evidence that Saudi authorities planned, ordered, or supervised the September 11 attacks. However, some documents previously published by the FBI and American judicial files once again raise old questions about Saudi Arabia’s network of relations with two of the perpetrators of the attacks, and about funds that reached Al-Qaeda from within the Kingdom.

Washington knew that Al-Qaeda wanted to attack it

Perhaps the most important information in the new documents is that the September 11 attacks did not occur in a vacuum. Years before the attacks, the CIA was following the organization and its leader, Osama bin Laden, and warnings were arriving to the White House about this organization’s desire to carry out operations inside American territory.

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One of the declassified documents dates back to September 10, 1998, and talked about the intentions of Osama bin Laden and his organization to carry out an attack inside the United States, and talked about the possibility of using a plane loaded with explosives to strike an American city that was not detected.

On December 4, 1998, a report appeared with a clear and unambiguous title: “Bin Laden is preparing to hijack American aircraft and carry out attacks.” The warnings continued over the following years.

On July 24, 2001, less than seven weeks before the New York and Washington attacks, an intelligence memorandum indicated that a terrorist operation linked to bin Laden had been postponed, but warned that the organization might be preparing for other attacks in the near term.

Then came one of the most famous pre-9/11 documents, an August 6, 2001 memo bearing the explicit title: “Bin Laden is determined to strike the United States.” These documents do not necessarily mean that US intelligence agencies knew that the attack would occur on September 11, or that four planes would be hijacked and that the World Trade Center and the Pentagon would be among the possible targets. American intelligence services were anticipating an actual threat, but they did not have the full picture of the attack. There is only limited and incomplete information about Al Qaeda's plans.

This is largely consistent with the conclusion of the US Commission of Inquiry into the September 11 attacks, which indicated that the intelligence services knew that bin Laden wanted to attack the United States, but they did not know precisely when, where, or how the attack would occur.

Nationalities of the attackers

Of the perpetrators of the September 11, 2001 attacks, nineteen held Saudi citizenship. But this fact alone does not mean in any way that the Kingdom was behind the attacks. Today, questions arise about some of its perpetrators who arrived in the United States, and about other people who helped them. Two names clearly stand out here: Nawaf Al-Hazmi and Khaled Al-Mihdhar. The two men arrived in the United States in January 2000, before later becoming among the perpetrators of the September 11 attacks and were among the air pirates who attacked the Pentagon building with a hijacked plane.

The FBI documents, which were declassified, talk about a Saudi person named Omar Al-Bayoumi, who had provided assistance to Al-Hazmi and Al-Mihdhar. According to these documents, this assistance included providing housing, translation, transportation, and even financing.

Read also an FBI memo revealing a possible relationship between Riyadh and the perpetrators of the September 11 attacks

These documents indicated communications between Omar Al-Bayoumi and the Saudi Consulate in Los Angeles, and his relationship with a person called Fahd Al-Thumairy, a Saudi cleric and diplomat who had a relationship with the consulate. One of the FBI documents shows that there were a series of contacts between these people and Saudi bodies and associations before the September attacks.

The investigation committee into the September 11 attacks focused on the issue of Omar Al-Bayoumi. Although it considered the circumstances of his meeting with Al-Hazmi and Al-Mihdhar and his assistance questionable, it found no confirmation that he was secretly working for Al-Qaeda or anyone else. The committee did not find evidence to prove that Fahd Al-Thumairy provided assistance to Al-Hazmi and Al-Mihdhar. Communications and assistance have been documented, but the interpretation of these relationships and the extent to which Saudi official bodies are informed of them is an issue that has not been definitively verified.

Funding from Saudi businessmen and associations

American intelligence services have long investigated the sources of funding for Al-Qaeda, and have concluded that Saudi Arabia was at that time a source of funds that reached jihadist organizations.

Among these documents is an American intelligence report that appeared in November 2002, which described Saudi Arabia as an important base for financing Al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations, and estimated that millions of dollars were arriving annually to terrorists from various sources within the Kingdom.

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Some of the money came in the form of religious donations made by people who may not know where it came from, while US intelligence also spoke of wealthy Saudi businessmen and people it suspected of supporting networks linked to Al-Qaeda. These documents showed the names of Saudi charities, including the International Islamic Relief Organization, Al-Haramain, and the Muwafaq Foundation.

But this suspicion does not necessarily mean conviction, according to American investigative bodies. Some of the businessmen whose names were mentioned in these documents have not been convicted in the United States or Europe of financing terrorism. The investigation committee into the September 11 file said that it did not find evidence proving that the Saudi government or senior Saudi officials financed the organization. But on the other hand, she pointed to the importance of Saudi Arabia as a source of funding, and to the possibility of funds arriving through charitable organizations that enjoyed Saudi government support.

The secrets of the case are not over yet

Although a quarter of a century has passed, Saudi financing still raises controversy and the threads of the issue are still intertwined. The families of the victims of September 11 and survivors of the attacks that changed the face of history filed a lawsuit against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, accusing Saudi entities and individuals of providing assistance to some Al-Qaeda members. In August 2025, a US federal judge refused to close the case, allowing judicial proceedings to continue.

Imad Bensaeed

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