US President George W. Bush has flatly rejected a Saudi request to declassify part of a report on the September 11th, 2001, attacks dealing with Saudi Arabia, on the grounds it would compromise intelligence.
In response, the Saudi foreign minister angrily denounced the report as an "outrage" that "wrongly and morbidly" accused Saudi Arabia of complicity in the attacks, but said he understood Mr Bush's reasons for rejecting the request.
The congressional report was released last week with a portion on Saudi Arabia still classified. The report raises suspicions over possible links between individuals in the Saudi government and some of the September 11th hijackers, 15 of whom were Saudis.
Mr Bush's national security adviser, Ms Condoleezza Rice, later told Prince Saud that the United States wants to question Mr Omar al-Bayoumi, a Saudi citizen the congressional report said knew two of the September 11th hijackers while living in San Diego. The report raised suspicions but reached no conclusion about whether Mr Bayoumi was connected to the Saudi government.
A senior FBI official said Mr Bayoumi was wanted for an interview and had not been charged. Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef earlier told the London-based daily al-Hayatthat Saudi Arabia would not consider extraditing Mr Bayoumi.
Prince Saud said he had given Bush a letter from Crown Prince Abdullah, Saudi Arabia's de facto leader, asking that the section be declassified so the country could respond directly and "remove any doubts."
Members of the US Congress, including Republican Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama, have also asked that the section be released and said it was being kept secret mainly to avoid diplomatic embarrassment.
A 27-page section was blank in the public version of the report and kept classified on the recommendation of senior intelligence and law enforcement officials, the White House said.
The classified section could be released later if the investigations are completed and US security interests would not be jeopardised, Mr Bush said.