United States’ congress is considering a bill that would allow the 9/11 victims to sue to Saudi Arabia. That move was criticized by Saudi crown prince Mohammad bin Nayef, who told the United Nation’s General Assembly that Saudi Arabia is puzzled by the move as his country has been a victim of terrorism and has been fighting it well before the 9/11 attack. He added that the Saudis were one of the first to denounce the 9/11 attack. He also said that Saudi Arabia is part of 12 international agreements to fight terrorism.

However, critics point out that Saudi Arabia’s first reaction was not denouncing the attack but emphasize that it is done by Israel and also to the fact that 15 out of 19 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia.

The current Saudi-U.S. relationship is some sort of an irony. At one hand, the U.S. plans to sell billions of dollars’ worth of arms to the Saudis and sue them for 9/11 on the other. At one hand they improve relations with Iran, a Saudi opponent and fight against Iranians in Yemen on the other. America’s foreign policies in the Middle East look increasingly flawed and full of irony.