US President Donald Trump has begun the process of designating certain Muslim Brotherhood chapters as foreign terrorist organisations and specially-designated global terrorists.
According to a White House fact sheet, President Trump is confronting the Muslim Brotherhood’s transnational network, which fuels terrorism and destabilisation campaigns against US interests and allies in the Middle East.
President Trump signed an executive order yesterday, directing Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to submit a report on whether to designate any Muslim Brotherhood chapters, such as those in Lebanon, Egypt, and Jordan.
It orders the secretaries to move forward with any designations within 45 days of the report. This move would bring sanctions against one of the Arab world’s oldest and most influential Islamist movements.
The Trump administration has accused Muslim Brotherhood factions in those countries of supporting or encouraging violent attacks against Israel and U.S. partners, or of providing material support to Palestinian militant group Hamas.
“President Trump is confronting the Muslim Brotherhood’s transnational network, which fuels terrorism and destabilization campaigns against U.S. interests and allies in the Middle East,” according to a White house fact sheet.