In a significant escalation of its counter terrorism policy, the United States has officially designated three regional branches of the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist organizations. The move, announced on January 13, 2026, targets the Egyptian, Jordanian, and Lebanese chapters of the long-standing Islamist movement.
The U.S. Department of State classified the Lebanese Muslim Brotherhood—also known as al-Jamaa al-Islamiyah—as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), the most severe designation under American law. This makes it a criminal offense to provide any material support to the group.
Simultaneously, the Treasury Department labeled the Egyptian and Jordanian branches as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs), citing their alleged material support for Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist group.U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, described the designations as the first step in a broader effort to disrupt the Muslim Brotherhood's "violence and destabilization" across the region.
The administration pointed to the Lebanese branch's involvement in rocket attacks against Israel in coordination with Hamas and Hezbollah following the October 2023 Hamas assault. They also accused the Egyptian and Jordanian chapters of providing covert backing to Hamas while presenting themselves as legitimate civic organizations.
The decision follows an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in November 2025, which directed a review of certain Muslim Brotherhood chapters for potential terrorist listings. Egypt's Foreign Ministry quickly welcomed the move, calling it a "pivotal step" that acknowledges the group's "extremist ideology" and threat to regional stability—a position Cairo has held since banning the Brotherhood and launching a major crackdown after the 2013 ouster of former President Mohamed Morsi.
Representatives of the Muslim Brotherhood have rejected the designations, with an Egyptian official vowing to challenge them through all available legal channels.The designations freeze assets, block transactions, and impose travel restrictions on those linked to the groups.
They reflect the Trump administration's intensified focus on countering Islamist networks perceived as threats to U.S. interests and its allies in the Middle East.
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