Terry Strada is vowing to block Saudi Arabia’s civilian nuclear ambitions until the Kingdom admits complicity in the September 11 attacks.
Strada, 58, who chairs 9/11 Families United, lost her husband Thomas Strada, a Cantor Fitzgerald bond trader, when hijackers crashed planes into the World Trade Center. She told The Post that approving nuclear cooperation with Saudi Arabia would reward a nation that has never acknowledged its role in murdering nearly 3,000 people.
“How do you give a country nuclear weapons that [is] responsible for murdering 3,000 people and they’ve never owned up to it? They’re not trustworthy. They’re not honest brokers,” she fumed.
The families aim to exploit the congressional review process for the so-called “123 Agreement,” which would permit American companies to partner with Saudi Arabia on nuclear energy projects valued in the billions. Congress retains authority to block the deal through a joint resolution of disapproval.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), a longtime advocate for declassifying documents on Saudi Arabia’s 9/11 role, recently declared he would oppose or at least challenge the nuclear pact until the families’ claims against the Kingdom are resolved. A bipartisan Senate group this week demanded the White House release concealed “side letters” accompanying the civil nuclear cooperation framework, sparking fresh confrontation with the administration.
President Trump said last week he was “going to look at” releasing 9/11 records on Saudi involvement after Strada delivered an impassioned address at the ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of the attacks. The White House has already authorized release of hundreds of pages of September 11 documents, according to spokeswoman Olivia Wales.
“President Trump is leading the most transparent administration in history, which is why he authorized the declassification and release of hundreds of pages of documents related to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001,” Wales said when asked whether Trump had decided on the families’ request. “The President will always pay tribute to the American heroes we lost in the tragic attacks, their beautiful family members, and to the acts of heroism that defined that fateful day when the unbreakable spirit of the American people prevailed.”
Strada dismissed the value of additional document releases. She insisted Trump should instead pressure Saudi Arabia directly to abandon its denials.
“Don’t continue covering for them or providing them cover… He can be the one that stops that pattern,” she said.
The Saudi government has strenuously denied any role in the attacks and maintains its nuclear program is peaceful and transparent.
The families’ legal campaign stretches back decades. A coalition of victims’ relatives sued the Kingdom in federal court seeking punitive and compensatory damages potentially totaling billions of dollars, enabled by the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act. Fifteen of the nineteen hijackers were Saudi nationals, a fact the families cite as central evidence of state involvement.
The nuclear agreement now sits at the intersection of diplomatic, commercial, and emotional interests, with the families calculating that their political leverage may never be stronger.