U.S. designates three regional Muslim Brotherhood branches as terrorists

The Trump administration designates three regional branches of the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist organizations, deploying the most severe U.S. sanctions and promising sustained pressure on networks Washington says support violence and instability.

The State Department labeled the Lebanese branch a Foreign Terrorist Organization, the highest U.S. terrorism classification, while the Treasury Department listed the Jordanian and Egyptian branches as Specially Designated Global Terrorists. Officials emphasized that the State Department’s FTO designation for Lebanon carries criminal penalties for providing material support, freezes U.S. assets, and restricts financial and logistical ties for U.S. persons. Treasury’s SDGT listings block property under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibit transactions with designated individuals and entities. Treasury notices tied the Jordanian and Egyptian listings in part to alleged support for Hamas. Some notices also reflect additional Treasury action related to the Lebanese chapter.

U.S. officials justified the sweeping designations by invoking a pattern they say links those branches to violence and destabilization. In announcing the measures, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, “These designations reflect the opening actions of an ongoing, sustained effort to thwart Muslim Brotherhood chapters’ violence and destabilization 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.” The administration framed the move as the implementation of an executive order signed last year by President Donald Trump that directed Secretary Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to determine appropriate sanctions and other measures targeting Muslim Brotherhood entities.

The decision marks a shift toward treating a historically diverse Islamist movement as a security threat warranting criminal and financial penalties. The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in Egypt in 1928 and has inspired political movements across the Middle East. Brotherhood leaders have for decades maintained that the movement renounced violence and pursues political goals through elections and political organizing, although some offshoots have engaged in armed activity. U.S. officials say the three regional chapters singled out engage in or facilitate violence that harms their regions and U.S. interests.

Policy and legal consequences will be immediate and broad. The FTO designation makes it a federal crime to provide material support to the Lebanese branch and gives prosecutors new tools to pursue financiers and facilitators. Treasury’s SDGT mechanism targets banks, intermediaries, and charities that U.S. authorities conclude facilitate transactions for the Jordanian and Egyptian branches. The sanctions are likely to complicate humanitarian and civil society operations in affected countries where Brotherhood-linked organizations provide social services or participate in politics.

Diplomatically, the designations risk straining relations with regional partners that have differing stances toward the Brotherhood. Qatar and Turkey, identified in regional commentary as countries viewed more tolerant of Brotherhood-associated actors, could see heightened tensions with Washington. Critics warn that applying a unified terror label across branches that operate in distinct political contexts risks conflating legitimate political activity with armed support, potentially escalating regional tensions rather than simplifying counterterrorism efforts.

Implementation will test U.S. enforcement capacity and diplomatic bandwidth as the administration moves to translate designations into interdiction of networks and curbs on funding while managing the political fallout across the Middle East.