US Blocks Assets, Travel for Muslim Brotherhood in Middle East Over Security Threats
US Blocks Assets, Travel for Muslim Brotherhood in Middle East Over Security Threats
The United States has officially designated the Muslim Brotherhood branches in Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan as terrorist organisations, a move welcomed by Arab allies and US conservatives.
The decision, announced on Tuesday, fulfills a longstanding call to curb the influence of the pan-Islamist movement, which was founded in Egypt in 1928 and had spread across the Arab world but has been declining under pressure from major regional powers.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the designations are the first step in implementing President Donald Trump’s directive to dismantle Muslim Brotherhood operations that pose a threat to the United States. He said, “The United States will use all available tools to deprive these Muslim Brotherhood chapters of the resources to engage in or support terrorism.”
The designations allow the US government to freeze any assets owned by the groups in the country and criminalise financial transactions with them. The move also significantly limits members’ ability to travel to the United States.
Egypt praised the decision, with its foreign ministry stating that the designation reflects the threat posed by the group’s extremist ideology to both regional and international security. President Trump first initiated the process in November last year.
The Muslim Brotherhood rose to political prominence in Egypt through the 2012 election of Mohamed Morsi following the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak. Morsi was removed in a 2013 coup led by Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who has since cracked down heavily on the group. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have also long sought to suppress the movement, which has called for the creation of a unified Islamic caliphate.
The US cited the Brotherhood’s support for Hamas and its alliances in Lebanon as reasons for the designation.
The Treasury Department reported that the Egyptian and Jordanian branches coordinated with Hamas, whose October 2023 attack on Israel prompted a large-scale Israeli response in Gaza. In Lebanon, the Brotherhood reportedly allied with Hezbollah in launching rockets into Israel and has pushed for closer alignment with the Hezbollah-Hamas axis.
The Brotherhood has also held significant influence in Jordan, where its political wing is a major opposition party. Jordan banned the movement in April last year, confiscating its assets over accusations of weapons stockpiling and plans to destabilise the kingdom, which maintains peace with Israel.
Rubio noted that this designation begins a “sustained effort to counter Muslim Brotherhood violence and destabilization wherever it occurs.” The move follows years of pressure from US conservatives, some of whom have claimed that the Brotherhood poses a threat to US security and is attempting to infiltrate American institutions.
The US had previously delayed the designation, partly due to concerns about relations with Turkey, whose President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has long ideological ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.
