WASHINGTON: The US Senate has unanimously approved legislation that would allow victims of the Sept 11, 2001 terrorist attacks to sue Saudi Arabia.

The Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, passed on Tuesday evening, defies the White House, which argues that the provision will hurt its ties with the Arab kingdom.

The bill, in its present form, has repercussions that go far beyond Saudi Arabia as it allows US citizens to bring lawsuits against nation-states for supporting terrorist activities.

Last month, Saudi Arabia warned that it would sell up to $750 billion in treasury securities and other assets in the United States to prevent US courts from freezing them under the proposed law.

`This bill is very near and dear to my heart as a New Yorker because it would allow the victims of 9/11 to pursue some small measure of justice,` said Senator Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, while voting for the bill.

Senator John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, said he was now working with Mr Schumer to get an `expedited` vote on the bill in the House of Representatives.

US President Barack Obama, however, has threatened to veto the bill when it comes to him for signing it into a law.

Senator Schumer, although a Democrat like Mr Obama, said the supporters of the bill could `easily get the two-thirds` votes to `override if the president should veto.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the president would not sign the bill into a law, even if both chambers of the Congress unanimously approve d it.

`Given the concerns we have expressed, it`s difficult to imagine the president signing this legislation,` he said.

The legislation now goes to the House, where lawmakers have also introduced their own version of the bill.

However, Speaker Paul Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican, has urged the legislators to closely review the proposed law before approving it.

`I think we need to look at it,` he said at a recent news briefing. `I think we need to review it to make sure we are not making mistakes with our allies and we`re not catching people in this that shouldn`t be caught up in this.

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir has warned that the legislation would harm bilateral ties and could also impact Saudi investments in the US.

But Senator Schumer said that the Saudis reaction was not right. `If the Saudis did not participate in this terrorism, they have nothing to fear about going to court. If they did, they should be held accountable.

Senator Cornyn said the Saudis could not implement the threat to withdraw their investments. `They`re not going to suffer a huge financial loss in order to make a point,` he said.

Saudi Arabia denies involvement in the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon 15 years ago and Mr Jubeir says that the Saudi objection to the bill is based on principles of international relations.

`What [Congress is] doing is stripping the principle of sovereign immunities which would turn the world for international law into the law of the jungle,` he said in a statement on Tuesday.