JEDDAH: A number of Americans have warned that the enactment of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) into law will have serious repercussions.

Political scientist Majid Rafizadeh believes that the new law works as a double-edge sword that could put senior US officials at risk of being sued by other countries that might be directly impacted by JASTA.

“I believe this is embarrassing and a huge mistake on the part of the US. Several American allies have voiced their disapproval of JASTA, which limits sovereign immunity; that means that other countries can come after the US and sue it as well,” he said.

Speaking to Arab News, the Harvard University scholar and president and director of the International American Council on the Middle East stressed that the new law will have a negative impact on the Saudi-US ties at all levels.

JASTA, he said, is being approved at a time when the US needs to consolidate its relation with its international allies in the war on terror.

“This (JASTA) will endanger future ties between governments and private sectors, particularly trade ties. In any lawsuit, foreign nationals as defendants will be at a disadvantage because they will lack full representation in a foreign state.

“JASTA will also lead to a geopolitical and strategic disaster in countries’ relations because basically nations are stripped of their sovereignty. It will also undermine international law and weaken the battle against terrorism,” he said.

Following the Congress’ endorsement of the law, CIA Director John Brennan warned of the risks to national security such legislation poses.

“I think the legislation is badly misguided and doesn’t take into account the negative impact on US national security,” Brennan told Jeffrey Goldberg at the Washington Ideas Forum presented by The Atlantic and the Aspen Institute.

Brennan added: “We all recognize that the emotions associated with 9/11 are still quite palpable (and) … the victims’ families are still seeking justices, but the 9/11 commission report said that there was no evidence that the Saudi government as an institution or senior Saudi officials, individually, were responsible for the 9/11 attack.”

On Wednesday, Congress voted to override US President Barack Obama’s veto, giving green light for the bill to become law.

The CIA director cautioned that the implications of the legislation extend far beyond potentially damaging the relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia.

“I think there’s a very, very dangerous, slippery slope that we’re going to get on,” Brennan said, adding that “foreign governments are going to start to pass similar type of legislation that is going to haul the United States into court overseas, even for the most frivolous charges and allegations for what the US has done overseas.”

Official Saudi assets in the US stand somewhere between $500 billion and $1 trillion when considering potential foreign bank deposits and offshore accounts, according to Joseph Gagnon, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

Saudi Arabia had $96.5 billion in Treasury securities holdings in August, according to the most recent number released by the Treasury Department, ranking 15th in its holdings of US Treasury debt.

The potential to do damage in case of withdrawal is huge.

US-Saudi Business Council President and CEO Ed Burton said: “The enactment of JASTA into law marks the beginning of a cautionary period for US-Saudi business relations. Beyond the geopolitical ramifications of how this new law will play out globally, we believe there will be serious considerations and possible significant reservations on the part of both US and Saudi firms for doing business in each other’s market.

“No business community likes to see their sovereign nation basically assailed by another nation. With the deep existing trade and investment ties between the US and Saudi business communities, we fully expect business to continue. However, we would expect this law to give both Saudi and US companies pause in considering positioning their capital and assets in each other’s market.”

As one of the world’s largest oil exporters with the biggest economy in the Gulf, Saudi Arabia has other business partners to choose from, in Europe and Asia, said President and CEO of the National US-Arab Chamber of Commerce David Hamod.

“America is no longer the only game in town,” he said. The CEOs of DOW and GE sent letters to Congress warning of the bill’s potentially destabilizing impact on American interests abroad.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter sent this week a letter to Congress, saying that “important counterterrorism efforts abroad” could be harmed and US foreign bases and facilities could be vulnerable to monetary damage awards in reciprocal cases.

Meanwhile, a US State Department official told Arab News in a statement: "We are disappointed by the congressional override of President Obama's veto of the JASTA legislation. While we remain profoundly sympathetic to the 9/11 families and their desire to pursue justice, this legislation could have serious, broad-ranging negative implications for global US interests. Specifically, this legislation makes changes to US law regarding sovereign immunity, stripping all governments of immunity in certain types of cases. A number of international partners have raised their concern about this legislation and we share that concern as well. The United States' relationship with Saudi Arabia is strong and solid, has stood the test of time, and is based on a wide range of interests. We will continue to work with the government of Saudi Arabia on some of the most pressing global and regional issues.”