The United States on Tuesday designated the Egyptian and Jordanian branches of the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist organisations, while naming the Lebanese chapter a foreign terrorist organisation (FTO), a more severe classification.
Announcing the decision, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington would use all available tools to cut off resources used by the Brotherhood’s branches to engage in what he described as terrorist activity, reports The National.
“These designations reflect the opening actions of an ongoing, sustained effort to thwart Muslim Brotherhood chapters’ violence and destabilisation wherever it occurs,” Rubio said in a statement.
He added that the leader of the Lebanese Muslim Brotherhood (LMB), Muhammad Fawzi Taqqosh, has been designated a specially designated global terrorist, with all his property and interests subject to blocking.
In a separate statement, the US Treasury Department said the measures against the Egyptian and Jordanian branches were aimed at “curtailing the pernicious influence of the Muslim Brotherhood” for allegedly providing material support to Hamas. Both chapters were designated as specially designated global terrorists.
The US State Department said that following Hamas’ attacks on Israel in October 2023, the Lebanese Muslim Brotherhood launched rocket attacks from Lebanon into northern Israel in coordination with Hamas and Hezbollah. It added that both Israel and the Lebanese military have taken action against the group.
According to the Treasury Department, under Taqqosh’s leadership, the LMB has sought closer alignment with the Hezbollah-Hamas axis.
US officials said the designations are intended to isolate the groups and their members by blocking access to the US financial system and restricting resources needed to carry out attacks. Individuals or entities engaging with the designated groups could also face sanctions.
Founded in Egypt in the late 1920s, the Muslim Brotherhood is an Islamist political movement that has expanded into a transnational network with branches and affiliates across the Arab and Muslim world.
Several countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and Russia, already classify the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organisation. The UAE welcomed the latest US decision.
The move follows an executive order issued by President Donald Trump in November initiating the process of designating certain Brotherhood branches as foreign terrorist organisations. At the time, the White House identified branches in Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan, accusing them of supporting violence and destabilisation.
In August, Rubio had said a terrorist designation for parts of the Brotherhood was “in the works.”
There are currently two bills before the US Congress calling for a full foreign terrorist designation of the Muslim Brotherhood. Some US states, including Florida and Texas, have also designated the group as a terrorist organisation at the state level, though such measures do not carry federal legal or financial consequences.
