Branches of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan on Wednesday condemned a US move to blacklist them as terrorist organisations, calling it political and pledging to contest it through legal channels.
Several Middle East governments, however, welcomed the US decision as a long overdue recognition of the group’s “extremist ideology”.
The US Treasury and State Departments announced the sanctions on Tuesday, accusing the three branches of the Brotherhood of providing material support to Hamas. That support, they said, included attempts to arrange financial and logistical aid for Hamas's fight against Israel in Gaza.
The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said the Egyptian and Jordanian branches provided “material support” to Hamas, including fund-raising and logistical facilitation, and worked to “undermine and destabilise” regional governments.
The State Department separately listed the Lebanese branch, Al Jamaa Al Islamiyah, as both a Foreign Terrorist Organisation and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist – a label also given to its secretary-general, Muhammad Fawzi Taqqosh.
Egypt
On Tuesday, the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood said it “categorically rejects” the US move. “This designation is both detached from reality and unsupported by evidence,” the group said.
The movement pledged to “pursue all appropriate legal avenues to challenge this decision and to protect the rights of the organisation and its members”. It denied that it had ever “directed, funded, provided material support to or engaged in terrorism”, and said it had “never threatened the security of the US”.
“The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood is a peaceful civic and social movement committed to reform through lawful and democratic means,” it said. “This designation politicises counter-terrorism tools, conflates peaceful Islamic civic engagement with extremism, and reinforces narratives that marginalise Muslims.”
The group urged Washington to “reconsider this decision based solely on the interests of the American people and verifiable facts on the ground”. It called on charities and human rights groups to maintain dialogue and “reject Islamophobic narratives”.
Lebanon
In Lebanon, Al Jamaa Al Islamiyah also rejected its inclusion on the US list, calling the designation “political and above international law”.
The group said the US action “does not rest on any Lebanese or international judicial ruling” and “has no legal effect” inside Lebanon. “The decision comes within a well-known regional political context and serves the interests of the Israeli occupation,” it said.
While the Lebanese branch received the more severe Foreign Terrorist Organisation classification, Al Jamaa insisted it remains a legitimate political force operating within Lebanese law. It said it “rejects terrorism and violence in all its forms” and has “never participated in any violent acts inside Lebanon or in any activity targeting the security of another state”.
Regional welcome
Egypt’s Foreign Ministry hailed Washington’s move as a “landmark step reflecting the danger of the Brotherhood’s extremist ideology and its direct threat to regional and international security”.
Cairo “commended the efforts of the US administration led by President Donald Trump in combating international terrorism”. The ministry said the move “fully aligns with Egypt’s firm position towards the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood”.
It said the US designation “confirms the validity of Egypt’s resolute stance” since the July 2013 protest that removed the Brotherhood from power. It cited the group’s “record of crimes and acts of violence” against citizens and security personnel.
Jordanian government spokesman Mohammad Al Momani said the group had been dissolved in the kingdom for years. He said all its activities have also been banned since April last year.
The UAE also welcomed the US designations, saying they reflected Washington’s “sustained and systematic efforts” to counter the activities of terrorist Muslim Brotherhood branches “wherever they operate”.
The ministry described the move as a key step towards depriving the groups of the resources that enable them to “engage in, support, or justify acts of extremism, hatred and terrorism”, and reaffirmed the UAE’s support for international efforts to combat extremism and promote regional stability.
On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry also welcomed the US designations.
The sanctions freeze any property or assets under US jurisdiction, ban Americans from conducting transactions with the groups, and expose foreign financial institutions that deal with them to possible secondary sanctions.
US officials said the designations aim to disrupt what they described as a transnational Brotherhood network that provides ideological and financial support to Hamas.
However, the move indicates that Washington, under President Donald Trump, is taking a less neutral stance in one of the region’s longest‑running ideological struggles, aligning itself more closely with governments hostile to Islamist movements.
Khaled Yacoub Oweis contributed to this report from Amman, as did Jamie Prentis in Beirut.
