News - Middle East: The US Justice Department has acknowledged it would miss a deadline set by President Joe Biden’s executive order to release documents on Saudi Arabia’s role in the attacks of September 11, 2001.

Relatives of the victims of the September 11 attacks have been pushing for years for more information about what the FBI discovered in its investigation and have contended that the documents would show Saudi authorities supported the plot.

Fifteen of the 19 hijackers that orchestrated the attacks were from Saudi Arabia. Yet the kingdom says it had no role in the attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people and caused about $10 billion worth of property and infrastructure damage in the United States.

According to the US Justice Department, the FBI has released over 700 documents and over 2,700 pages in accordance with the process outlined in Biden’s September 3 executive order.

On Thursday, 9/11 Families United, a group that represents families and survivors of the attacks, sent a letter to Biden, urging him to raise the September 11 attacks in any meetings with the Persian Gulf country.

Media reports said Biden was considering a visit to Saudi Arabia, but the White House has said there are no current plans for Biden to travel there.

9/11 Families United further said no reset of US-Saudi ties could succeed “without proper reconciliation for the attacks on September 11, 2001.”

Last September, Biden directed the Justice Department and other agencies to review and release certain documents related to the FBI’s investigation, which reportedly contain evidence of Saudi involvement in the strikes.

“We must never forget the enduring pain of the families and loved ones of the 2,977 innocent people who were killed during the worst terrorist attack on America in our history. For them, it was not only a national and international tragedy,” Biden said in a statement at the time.