Robert Peraza, who lost his son Robert David Peraza, pauses at his son’s name at the North Pool of the 9/11 Memorial during tenth anniversary ceremonies at the site of the World Trade Center in New York, September 11, 2011. © Justin Lane / Reuters

President Barack Obama has vetoed the legislation that would allow families of 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia. The bill passed unanimously in both the House and the Senate and was met with widespread public support.

Known as “Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act” or JASTA, the bill creates an exemption to the doctrine of sovereign immunity established by a 1976 law, thus allowing US citizens to sue foreign countries for terrorism that kills Americans on US soil.

Fifteen out of 19 men who hijacked commercial airliners and used them as missiles to target the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001 were subjects of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Two were from the United Arab Emirates.

The Senate passed JASTA in May, while the House voted on it just before the 15th anniversary of 9/11.

Republican majority leaders in Congress are confident they have enough votes to override the veto.

“There will be a roll call vote on the veto override,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) told reporters on Tuesday. “Our assumption is that the veto will be overridden.”

“My message to the caucus is going to be, unless there are 34 people willing to fall on their swords over this, it’s probably not worth falling on your sword over,” said Bob Corker (R-Tennessee), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Senator Charles Schumer (D-New York) called the veto a “disappointing decision that will be swiftly and soundly overturned” in a statement on Friday.

“If the Saudis did nothing wrong, they should not fear this legislation. If they were culpable in 9/11, they should be held accountable. The families of the victims of 9/11 deserve their day in court,” Schumer added.

Saudi Arabia unsuccessfully tried to block the bill, using the services of its many lobbyists in Washington.

Following the House vote, the Saudi-led Gulf Cooperation Council expressed“deep concern”, with Secretary General Abdullatif al-Zayani calling JASTA “contrary to the foundations and principles of relations between states and the principle of sovereign immunity enjoyed by states,” AP reported.

The government of Qatar said the bill “violates international law, particularly the principle of sovereign equality between states,” according to Reuters.

Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, Secretary-General of the Arab League, said the bill contradicted “established norms of the international law,” according to the Egyptian state news agency MENA.

France’s Marine Le Pen, whose party triumphed in recent European Parliament (EP) elections, has said that the far-right Front National will stand against Turkey’s European Union accession process and that the country’s membership should be vetoed.

Le Pen’s party, garnering 25 percent, was among the Euroskeptic and far-right parties to make big gains in the EP elections, which will have far-reaching effects on European policy in the coming years.

“As a first step, we want the cancellation of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership [TTIP] between the US and EU as soon as possible. Secondly, we want the veto of Turkey’s membership [bid] immediately. Our third task is related to French issues,” Le Pen told broadcaster BFM TV on Monday.

The Front National triumphed in elections for the first time in its history, taking as many as 24 seats in the EP, the EU’s only elected institution, which works with the European Commission and 28 governments to debate and pass laws. French Prime Minister Manuel Valls called the breakthrough by the National Front a political earthquake.

According to observers in Europe, the rise of the Euroskeptic party in France will create an unfavorable atmosphere for Turkey’s EU accession negotiations and adversely affect not only Turkey’s EU bid but also the situation of Muslim immigrants in European capitals.

Le Pen is considered an Islamophobe who promotes anti-Islamic policies. However, Islamophobia is not the only item on her party’s agenda; she is also opposed to the euro.

Before the elections, Le Pen said in an interview that she did not have a problem with Turkey, but that the main problem in France was the “visibility” of Islam. She also said she was against Turkey’s EU membership and could not understand why Turkey was seeking to join a union that everyone wanted to get out of, though she allowed that the EU was not acting fairly toward Ankara.

On Monday, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Turkey’s European Union affairs minister, said he does not believe that the victory of Le Pen’s party in France will have a negative impact on Turkey’s EU accession process, adding that France’s stance on Turkey’s membership had changed during the tenure of President François Hollande.

Hollande was elected president in May 2012, defeating his predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy, who remained a steadfast opponent of Turkish membership in the EU during his term in office. Hollande, on the other hand, has softened the French stance, lifting Paris’ objection to the opening of talks on one of the five blocked chapters and thus paving the way for the resumption of the accession talks.