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The deal was supposed to be a way toward a

Feb. 1, 2018 by Katherine Berry

The deal was supposed to be a way toward a lifting of sanctions on Russia, but in fact, the plan was to be carried out by a third party on the back of a Saudi-backed effort to derail a key US initiative that is under scrutiny by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.

"The Saudis were so upset, they had no money and they were very serious about it," said Lewis, who was at the White House briefing with Trump. "And in fact, they were very critical of the plan."

In a joint statement, Trump said that it was "a very big deal" that the Saudis would be able to use the deal to advance their interests.

"The United States does not tolerate terrorist organizations, especially the Saudi government and their allies," Trump said. "For me, there is no reason to believe that the Saudi government or their partners would allow this to go ahead, and it is a clear breach of international law."

Trump's move has been met with sharp criticism from within his own administration, with some suggesting that he is simply putting his own interests ahead of that of those of the other parties to the deal.

"I'm not going to sign off on anything that wasn't in the plan," said a White House official. "I'm not going to sign off on anything that was in the plan and I'm not going to sign off on anything that would get into any way with anyone else's business."

Despite the criticism, a senior administration official told me that the Saudis and other senior administration officials are not making any secret of their concerns. The official explained that the Saudis are looking forward to moving forward with the deal.

Trump's comments come as he prepares to visit Saudi Arabia for a meeting with the country's top diplomat. On February 28, he met with the kingdom's foreign minister and said that "the United States has no choice but to continue to stand with Saudi Arabia."

But in an August 24 Facebook post, an unnamed senior administration official asked if the Saudis were prepared to go ahead with the deal.

"This was never something that was discussed internally or in the White House, and at the very least, I'm not suggesting that there was any question of the Saudis getting involved in the Middle East — I'm not suggesting that they were given free rein to do that," the official said. "I'm saying what's best for the U.S. side, and we're going to continue to stand up to the Saudis and to the Saudis that we have a relationship with