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The United States has designated three branches of the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist organizations, in a move that could affect Washington's relations with Qatar and Türkiye.
The Treasury and State departments announced measures against the group's Lebanese, Jordanian and Egyptian chapters, which the Trump administration says pose risks to the United States.
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President Donald Trump answers questions from reporters as Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio look on while attending a meeting with oil industry executives at the White House in Washington, DC, January 9, 2026. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
The State Department gave the Lebanese branch of the Muslim Brotherhood the harshest of its labels, designating it a foreign terrorist organization, making it illegal to provide material support to the group, The Associated Press reported. Additionally, the Treasury Department labeled the Jordanian and Egyptian branches as Specially Designated Global Terrorists for providing support to Hamas. The Lebanese chapter of the Muslim Brotherhood also received a special designation from the Treasury Department.
“These designations reflect the initial actions of an ongoing and sustained effort to thwart violence and destabilization of Muslim Brotherhood chapters wherever it occurs,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement, according to the AP. “The United States will use every tool available to deprive these Muslim Brotherhood chapters of the resources to engage in or support terrorism.”
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. President Donald Trump look on during the White House Digital Asset Summit in the State Dining Room of the White House on March 7, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
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The labeling of the Jordanian chapter as a specially designated global terrorist comes months after Amman announced a complete ban on the organization. The PA noted that while the Jordanian monarchy had previously banned the Muslim Brotherhood a decade ago, it officially authorized a splinter group and continued to tolerate the Islamic Action Front while restricting some of its activities. The Islamic Action Front, a political party linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, won several seats in the 2024 parliamentary elections.
In November, President Donald Trump issued an executive order calling for “certain chapters or other subdivisions of the Muslim Brotherhood” to be considered for designation as foreign terrorist organizations and specially designated global terrorist organizations.
The “Muslim Brotherhood chapters in Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt engage in or facilitate and support campaigns of violence and destabilization that harm their own regions, American citizens, and US interests,” the executive order reads.
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters after speaking to troops via video from his Mar-a-Lago estate on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025, in Palm Beach, Florida. (Alex Brandon/AP Photo)
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The order goes on to state that after the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel, “the military wing of the Lebanese chapter of the Muslim Brotherhood joined Hamas, Hezbollah, and Palestinian factions in launching multiple rocket attacks against civilian and military targets inside Israel.” It also adds that the Egyptian chapter of the Muslim Brotherhood “called for violent attacks” against US partners and interests on October 7, 2023. Additionally, the order states that leaders of the Jordanian chapter “have long provided material support to the militant wing of Hamas.”
Both Florida and Texas have designated the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization, something Trump contemplated doing in 2019 during his first term.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
