Saudi Arabia clarifies Trump tweet: No new Saudi pledges to rebuild Syria

President Donald Trump on Monday announced that Saudi Arabia"has now agreed to spend the necessary money" for Syria's reconstruction, briefly raising questions about whether the White House had secured additional funding from Riyadh to rebuild the war-ravaged nation.

It turns out that Trump, under fire for suddenly announcing the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria, was highlighting a commitment that the Saudis made several months ago.An official at the Saudi embassy in Washington told CNBC that the kingdom has not made any major new financial pledge to Syria since August. That is when the State Department announced that Saudi Arabia had committed $100 million to a fund to stabilize areas of Syria liberated from ISIS militants by a U.S.-led coalition.