The United States has designated the Muslim Brotherhood branches in Egypt, Lebanon, and Jordan as foreign terrorist organisations, a step long advocated by key Arab allies and American conservatives. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the move as the start of a sustained campaign to disrupt the group's alleged violent and destabilising activities globally. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent highlighted the Brotherhood's history of terror support, stating aggressive measures are being taken to isolate it from the international financial system.

The designations trigger asset freezes in the United States, criminalise dealings with designated members, and impose severe travel restrictions. The Egyptian branch rejected the listing, vowing legal challenges and insisting it renounces violence while accusing the decision of stemming from pressure by the UAE and Israel rather than solid evidence. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates have long campaigned against the movement, whose ideology envisions a transnational Islamic caliphate.

Founded in Egypt in 1928, the Muslim Brotherhood briefly held power after the 2012 election of Mohamed Morsi following the Arab Spring, only to be removed in a 2013 military coup led by Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Since then, Egypt has enforced a broad crackdown, banning the group domestically. Egypt's foreign ministry praised the US action as acknowledgment of the threat posed by the Brotherhood's extremist ideology to regional and international stability.

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The US cited the branches' alleged coordination with Hamas—linked to the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel—for the Egyptian and Jordanian designations, while accusing the Lebanese branch of collaborating with Hezbollah in rocket attacks against Israel. Jordan banned the organisation in April last year, citing weapons stockpiling and destabilisation plots despite its political wing's role as the main parliamentary opposition. Many Egyptian members have since operated from Turkey, where President Recep Tayyip Erdogan maintains ideological ties to the group.

Experts indicate the terrorist label will intensify pressure on hosting nations, complicating operations, funding, and alliances, though it is unlikely to eliminate the movement entirely. The decision aligns with prior efforts by the Trump administration and reflects ongoing concerns among US conservatives, some of whom have promoted unsubstantiated claims of Brotherhood infiltration into American institutions aimed at imposing sharia law.

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