-Caveat Lector- <http://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/13/world/13KHOB.html?searchpv=nytToday> June 13, 2001 Charges Near in Bombing at Saudi Base, U.S. Aides Say WASHINGTON, June 12 - After a five-year inquiry that at times seemed near collapse because of disagreements with Saudi Arabia, American authorities said today that they were close to bringing charges against Saudi militants for the 1996 truck bombing at the Khobar Towers apartment building that killed 19 American airmen. It was unclear when the indictments might be returned or whether any of the dozens of Saudis already in jail in connection with the bombing would be among them. It was also uncertain whether any of those likely to be cited in the charges could actually be brought to the United States to stand trial. The federal grand jury investigation has been conducted by the F.B.I and prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia. The possible indictments were first reported tonight by CBS News. For years, the case has been swept up in the changing relationship between the United States and Iran, which some counterterorism officials have blamed at least in part for helping to mastermind the attack, through officers of its state intelligence service. Some officials said that it now appeared unlikely that any Iranian officials would be accused of complicity in the bombing, although the complete list of people to be charged, their nationalities and possible links to foreign governments remained unclear. In recent years, as relations improved with the moderate government of President Mohammad Khatami, American diplomats have demanded what law enforcement officials have described as direct and specific evidence of Iranian involvement before they would accuse Iran of responsibility. A charge of state sponsorship against Iran could provoke politically unpalatable demands for military retaliation, which the Clinton administration initially threatened against the perpetrators. The case has been a high priority for the outgoing F.B.I. director, Louis J. Freeh. He pledged a full investigation and traveled to Saudi Arabia frequently, often on frustrating missions to obtain its government's reluctant cooperation in solving the bombing. Three years ago, angry over the unwillingness of the Saudis to allow the F.B.I. greater access, Mr. Freeh quietly pulled out the dozens of investigators initially sent to the scene of the bombing, an apartment complex in eastern Saudi Arabia, leaving behind only a single agent as a legal attachÈ and liaison to the Saudis. But the F.B.I. along with the Departments of Justice and Defense vowed that they would never abandon the inquiry, which began after a fuel truck packed with tons of explosives detonated outside the apartment complex. About 500 people were wounded in the blast. Federal officials complained that the Saudis refused to allow agents to interrogate dozens of suspects arrested by the Saudis and to review critical evidence. It took months after the bombing, they said, for the Saudis to agree to allow the F.B.I. to examine a car used by the bombers during their escape. Some American business executives and others close to the Saudi government said the Saudis were equally frustrated by the F.B.I. They said the Saudis complained that the bureau was reluctant to accept the validity of evidence gathered by the Saudis, suggesting that the attack was carried out by Saudi dissidents with the help of Iran. The evidence, they said, included videotapes of confessions by some suspects and wiretaps. 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