The United States has designated the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, as well as Lebanon and Jordan, as “terrorist organisations”.
"These designations reflect the opening actions of an ongoing, sustained effort to thwart Muslim Brotherhood chapters' violence and destabilisation wherever it occurs," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement on Tuesday.
"The United States will use all available tools to deprive these Muslim Brotherhood chapters of the resources to engage in or support terrorism."
President Donald Trump set in motion the process to take action against the movement, which was founded in Egypt in 1928 and has since spread across the Arab world.
Trump signed an executive order in November directing the State and Treasury departments to consider designating certain chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) and Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs), the White House said.
The White House said the move aims to curb the chapters’ operational capabilities, cut off financial resources and address “threats they may pose to US nationals and national security.”
The Trump administration designated the Egyptian and Jordanian chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood based on their “support for Hamas,” the Palestinian resistance group, also classified as terrorists by the United States.
