President Donald Trump has signed an executive order initiating a process to designate certain branches of the Muslim Brotherhood as foreign terrorist organizations. This move paves the way for potential sanctions against the targeted entities.
The White House stated in a release on Monday that the executive order “launches a process to consider designating certain branches or subsidiary factions of the Muslim Brotherhood as foreign terrorist organizations,” specifically mentioning Brotherhood affiliates in Lebanon, Egypt, and Jordan.
Through the executive order, President Trump directed Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bicent to submit a report assessing whether any branches of the Muslim Brotherhood should be designated. The order further instructs the Secretaries to proceed with implementing any designations within 45 days of the report’s submission.
“President Trump is confronting the transnational network of the Muslim Brotherhood, which fuels terrorism and anti-U.S. destabilization campaigns against U.S. interests and allies in the Middle East,” the White House statement asserted.
According to the White House, the Muslim Brotherhood, founded in Egypt in 1928, has evolved into a transnational network with branches across the Middle East and beyond. The statement alleges that its affiliates in Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt engage in or facilitate violent activities and support destabilizing campaigns that harm their respective regions, as well as U.S. citizens and interests.
The statement further contends that following Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, the military wing of the Muslim Brotherhood’s branch in Lebanon joined Hamas, Hezbollah, and Palestinian factions in launching multiple rocket attacks against civilian and military targets inside Israel. A prominent leader within the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood branch has reportedly called for violent attacks against U.S. partners and interests, while Muslim Brotherhood leaders in Jordan have allegedly provided long-standing material support to Hamas’s armed wing.
The White House argues that these activities pose a threat to the safety and security of American civilians in the Levant and other parts of the Middle East, as well as undermining regional stability.
