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This 9/11 widow wasn’t afraid to call out Saudi Arabia for its alleged role in the attacks, and everyone is cheering her on for speaking so bluntly to power

Michael White. Updated September 12th, 2026

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The 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the US were marked by remembrance services across the country and around the world.

And one speech by a surviving relative of one of the 9/11 victims is cutting through more than most.

Terry Strada, the widow of a man who died at the World Trade Centre, spoke at Ground Zero in front of all the living former US presidents as well as the current vice president, JD Vance – and directly called them out for not fully investigating the apparent ties between Saudi Arabia and the attack.

She said:

“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.

“They withheld evidence. They vetoed JASTA [Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act]. They broke promises, both public and private. It has been one betrayal after another.”

Strada then asked the Trump administration to recognise Saudi’s alleged ties to 9/11 — an accusation that the kingdom has consistently denied for the past 25 years. However, the facts remain that 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudi, and the mastermind of the atrocity, Osama bin Laden, was from one of Saudi’s most powerful families.

“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,” Strada said.

People on the ground applauded throughout her speech, and others online have been commending Strada for speaking an uncomfortable truth to power.

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