- Order requires action on any proposed designations within 45 days.
- US alleges its “transnational network” behind regional instability.
- Seeks review on designating group’s branches in Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan.
US President Donald Trump on Monday began the process of designating certain Muslim Brotherhood chapters as foreign terrorist organisations and specially designated global terrorists, a move that would bring sanctions against one of the Arab world’s oldest and most influential movements.
Trump signed an executive order 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, according to a White House fact sheet.
It orders the secretaries to move forward with any designations within 45 days of the report.
The Trump administration has accused Muslim Brotherhood factions in those countries of supporting or encouraging violent attacks against Israel and US partners, or of providing material support to the Palestinian group Hamas.
“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,” according to the fact sheet.
Republicans and right-wing voices have long advocated for and considered terrorist designations for the Muslim Brotherhood.
The Republican president mounted a similar effort during his first term. Months after his second term began, Rubio said the Trump administration was working to designate the movement as a terrorist organisation.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott, also a Republican, last week imposed the same designation on the Muslim Brotherhood at the state level.
The Brotherhood was founded in Egypt in the 1920s as a religious-political movement to counter the spread of secular and nationalist ideas. It swiftly spread through Muslim countries, becoming a major player but often operating in secret.