US labels Muslim Brotherhood branches in Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan as terror organizations

Washington accuses brotherhood branches of collaborating with Hamas and Hezbollah; Egypt, where fundamentalist group was born, praises move against ‘extremist ideology’

The United States on Tuesday designated the Egyptian, Lebanese and Jordanian branches of the Muslim Brotherhood as global terrorists, citing in part what it called their support for the Hamas terror group.

The move, which Washington formally set in motion last November, will bring sanctions against one of the Arab world’s oldest and most influential Islamist movements.

The Treasury said it was labeling the three chapters as specially designated global terrorists. It has accused the trio of supporting or encouraging violent terror attacks against Israel and US partners.

“Chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood purport to be legitimate civic organizations while, behind the scenes, they explicitly and enthusiastically support terrorist groups like Hamas,” the Treasury Department said in a statement.

The designations mean that the United States will block any assets by the Muslim Brotherhood in the world’s largest economy and criminalize transactions with its groups.

The move also severely impedes members’ ability to travel to the United States.

Egypt’s foreign ministry welcomed the move, describing it as a “crucial step that reflects the gravity of the group and its extremist ideology and what it represents as a direct threat of regional and international security and stability.”

Founded in 1928 in Egypt, the pan-Islamist movement once spread across the Arab world, but it has been in retreat as it comes under concerted pressure from major Arab powers.

The movement rose to power in its native Egypt democratically through the 2012 election of Mohamed Morsi following the overthrow of longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak, who had imposed a ban on the Muslim Brotherhood, even though some of its activities were tolerated, including its network of social services.

Morsi was deposed in 2013 in a coup by then-military chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who has since pursued a sweeping crackdown against the Muslim Brotherhood.

Egypt, as well as US-allied monarchies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, have long sought to suppress the Muslim Brotherhood, whose vision calls for the creation of a unified Islamic caliphate.

Targeting links with Hamas

The Trump administration designated the groups in part on the basis of their support for Hamas.

The Treasury Department said that the Egyptian and Jordanian branches of the brotherhood both have coordinated with Hamas, whose massive October 7, 2023, attack on Israel triggered an overwhelming Israeli offensive into Gaza.

The State Department said that in Lebanon, the Muslim Brotherhood, a Sunni Muslim movement, had allied itself with the Hezbollah terror group in firing rockets into Israel.

The Lebanese Muslim Brotherhood has “pushed for a more formal alignment with the Hizballah-Hamas axis,” the State Department said.

The Muslim Brotherhood had gained strength in Jordan, where its political wing is the main opposition party in parliament.

In April last year, Jordan banned the Muslim Brotherhood, ordering confiscation of its assets, after accusing the movement of stockpiling weapons and planning to destabilize the kingdom, which has a peace agreement with Israel.

In recent years, US conservatives have also seized upon the Muslim Brotherhood, with some spreading the unfounded conspiracy theory that the organization is infiltrating the US government with a goal of imposing Islamic sharia law.

Republican lawmakers have repeatedly sought a ban on the Muslim Brotherhood, hoping to cut off any financing for the movement.

The US had held off on the designation in part out of concern about jeopardizing ties with Turkey, whose president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has a deep and longstanding ideological affinity with the Muslim Brotherhood.

Trump has a generally positive relationship with Erdogan and has also played down the Turkish leader’s fierce criticism of Israel’s offensive in Gaza, which was sparked by Hamas’s October 7,  2023, massacre of southern communities.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.