US labels Muslim brotherhood in Middle East as terrorist

The United States officially designates Muslim Brotherhood branches in Egypt, Lebanon, and Jordan as terrorist organizations

The United States officially designated on Tuesday the branches of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Lebanon, and Jordan as terrorist organizations, responding to a long-standing request from their Arab allies and American conservatives.

Founded in 1928 in Egypt, this pan-Islamist movement once spread across the Muslim world before declining under coordinated pressure from major Arab powers.

In a statement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said: “These designations are the first steps in an ongoing effort to counter the violence and destabilization caused by Muslim Brotherhood branches, wherever they occur.”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent added that the Muslim Brotherhood has “a long history of terrorist activities,” noting that Washington is actively working to exclude them from the international financial system.

Economic sanctions and asset freezes

This designation means that the United States will:

• Freeze all assets of the Muslim Brotherhood on its territory
• Criminalize any transactions with their members
• Heavily restrict access to U.S. territory

In response, the Egyptian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood issued a statement on social media announcing that it would use legal channels to challenge the decision, claiming it has never advocated violence nor threatened the United States.

“This designation is disconnected from reality and is not based on any evidence. It is the result of foreign pressure, particularly from the United Arab Emirates and Israel,” the organization said.

Growing hostility in the Middle East

Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates have long sought to eradicate the Muslim Brotherhood, whose ideology aims to establish a transnational Islamic caliphate.

The movement briefly came to power in Egypt in 2012 with the election of Mohamed Morsi, after the fall of Hosni Mubarak. But Morsi was overthrown in 2013 by General Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, now president, who launched a massive crackdown on the organization.

The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the U.S. decision, calling the Muslim Brotherhood a direct threat to regional and international security.

Turkey, a strategic stronghold

Weakened in their home country, many Egyptian cadres have taken refuge abroad, developing networks of media outlets, businesses, and charitable organizations. Turkey has become a major haven, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sharing ideological proximity with the Muslim Brotherhood.

According to expert Lorenzo Vidino from George Washington University: “This decision will put strong pressure on U.S. allied countries: do they want to host organizations classified as terrorist by Washington?”

Links with Hamas and Hezbollah

The Trump administration justified the designation in part by the Muslim Brotherhood’s alleged support for Hamas, the Palestinian movement already classified as terrorist by the United States.

The Treasury Department says the Egyptian and Jordanian branches coordinated activities with Hamas, responsible for the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel that triggered a large Israeli offensive on Gaza.

In Lebanon, the Sunni branch of the Muslim Brotherhood is said to have allied with Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Shiite militia, to fire rockets at Israel.

Jordan toughens its stance

In Jordan, where the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood is the main parliamentary opposition force, the government banned the organization last April, ordering the seizure of its assets after accusing it of stockpiling weapons and seeking to destabilize the kingdom.

Controversies in the United States

In recent years, some American conservatives have also spread unfounded conspiracy theories claiming the Muslim Brotherhood has infiltrated the U.S. government to impose Sharia law.

The U.S. designation thus marks a major turning point in the international fight against the Muslim Brotherhood and could profoundly reshape their global networks.