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Top US diplomat Marco Rubio says Washington will \u2018use all available tools\u2019 to counter Muslim Brotherhood branches.<\/p>\n
Published On 13 Jan 202613 Jan 2026<\/p>\n
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The United States has designated Muslim Brotherhood organisations in Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan as \u201cterrorist\u201d groups, The Associated Press news agency reports, as Washington intensifies its crackdown on Israel\u2019s rivals across the world.<\/p>\n
The decision on Tuesday came weeks after President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing his administration to start the process of blacklisting the groups.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThese designations reflect the opening actions of an ongoing, sustained effort to thwart Muslim Brotherhood chapters\u2019 violence and destabilisation wherever it occurs,\u201d Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement, according to AP.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe United States will use all available tools to deprive these Muslim Brotherhood chapters of the resources to engage in or support terrorism.\u201d<\/p>\n
The designations make it illegal to provide material support to the groups. They also largely ban their current and former members from entering the US and impose economic sanctions to choke their revenue streams.<\/p>\n
Established in 1928 by Egyptian Muslim scholar Hassan al-Banna, the Muslim Brotherhood has offshoots and branches across the Middle East, including political parties and social organisations.<\/p>\n
The group and its affiliates say they are committed to peaceful political participation.<\/p>\n
The Muslim Brotherhood chapter in Lebanon, known\u00a0as\u00a0al-Jamaa al-Islamiya<\/a>, is represented in the Lebanese Parliament.<\/p>\n In Jordan, the group won 31 House of Representatives seats in the 2024 elections through its political arm, the Islamic Action Front<\/a>.<\/p>\n But Amman banned the organisation last year, accusing it of links to what the Jordanian government called a sabotage plot.<\/p>\n