The US has labelled three Middle Eastern branches of the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist organisations, imposing sanctions on them and their members. The Treasury and State departments announced the actions last night against the Lebanese, Jordanian and Egyptian chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood, which they said pose a risk to the United States and American interests.

 

The State Department designated the Lebanese branch a foreign terrorist organisation, the most severe of the labels, which makes it a criminal offence to provide material support to the group. Jordanian and Egyptian branches were listed by the Treasury as specially designated global terrorists for providing support to Hamas.

 

In a statement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, these designations reflect the opening actions of an ongoing, sustained effort to thwart the Muslim Brotherhood chapters’ violence and destabilisation wherever it occurs. The United States will use all available tools to deprive these Muslim Brotherhood chapters of the resources to engage in or support terrorism.

 

Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent were mandated last year under an executive order signed by Trump to determine the most appropriate way to impose sanctions on the groups, which US officials say engage in or support violence and destabilisation campaigns that harm the United States and other regions.