Special Counsel Robert Mueller‘s Russia investigation has now expanded to include foreign interference by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The former advisor of President Donald Trump, George Nadar, is now cooperating in Mueller’s investigation. He was granted immunity in an agreement for his cooperation with Mueller.

Three months before the 2016 election, Nadar helped a UAE sheikh and the crown prince of Saudi Arabia to negotiate a meeting in the Trump Tower with Donald Trump Jr, Joel Zamel and Erik Prince. Zamal is an Israeli specialist in social media, and Prince the founder of the private military contractor formerly known as Blackwater.

Both Nader and Zamel are practiced players in the complex world of Middle East politics. According to the New York Times, Zamel represented a firm that employed several Israeli former intelligence officers and specialized in data collection and social media persuasion. They were offering to flood U.S. social media with posts demographically targeted to shore up support for Trump and diminish support for Clinton. “The firm had already drawn up a multimillion-dollar proposal for a social media manipulation effort to help elect Mr Trump,” The Times reported.

This meeting is the first evidence that countries other than Russia sought to influence the U.S. election in favor of Trump.

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At the time, Saudi Arabia and the UAE had one common problem — Iran. They wanted someone in the White House who would side with them against Iran. Trump had already signaled his own animosity toward the regime in Iran by nixing the nuclear deal and threatened “the strongest sanctions in history.”

SLIDESHOW: DONALD TRUMP’S 30 CRAZIEST TWEETS

President Trump has a long history of doing business with Saudi royals that goes back two decades. The relationship began with a partnership involving the Plaza Hotel. UAE royals are also in business with Trump — he has one Emirati golf course and another on the way.

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