The U.S. decision was neither incidental nor disconnected from broader regional developments. As the war in Gaza reshaped political and security calculations across the Middle East, the Treasury Department, in coordination with the State Department, classified Lebanon’s Islamic Group as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, and added its leader, Mohammed Fawzi Takkoush, to the SDGT list.
The decision also designated Muslim Brotherhood branches in Egypt and Jordan as Specially Designated Global Terrorists. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the move was intended to employ “all available tools to deprive these branches of the resources necessary to engage in or support terrorism,” adding that the designations “reflect the initial steps of a sustained and ongoing effort to disrupt violent and destabilizing activities carried out by Muslim Brotherhood branches wherever they exist.”
The designation has cast a spotlight on the position of local Islamist groups within Lebanon’s political landscape—not merely as domestic actors, but as components of intertwined regional axes where security and political calculations intersect. It has also revived a long-standing question about the boundaries between religious and political activism on the one hand, and involvement in regional conflicts on the other.
The Most Dangerous Designations
The decision implements an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in November 2025, tasking Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent with initiating the process of designating certain branches of the Muslim Brotherhood, amid growing U.S. concerns over the group’s role in financing terrorism and supporting extremist organizations, foremost among them Hamas.
In its official narrative, Washington views the Muslim Brotherhood—founded in Egypt in 1928—as having evolved into a transnational network with branches that “engage in, facilitate, or support violence and campaigns of destabilization,” posing a direct threat to U.S. interests and those of its allies.
In the Lebanese case, the White House points to the military wing linked to the Islamic Group, which it says joined Hamas, Hezbollah, and Palestinian factions during the Gaza war in launching multiple rocket attacks against civilian and military targets inside Israel.
While Washington accuses the muslin Brotherhood’s Egyptian branch of inciting violence against U.S. interests, and the Jordanian branch of providing material support to Hamas, it argues that the totality of these activities contributes to endangering American civilians and undermining regional stability.
Designating Lebanon’s Islamic Group—described as a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood—as a Foreign Terrorist Organization represents, according to terrorism expert Dr. Mustafa Amin, “one of the most severe levels of U.S. designation, placing it among the organizations most vulnerable to direct targeting.” He noted that the move is more serious than the classifications applied to the Brotherhood in other countries such as Jordan or to the parent organization in Egypt.
A Predictable Path
The designation of the Islamic Group in Lebanon was not unexpected, Amin said, but rather the culmination of a lengthy process grounded in its involvement in supporting Hamas and its financial and organizational ties to both Hamas and the international Muslim Brotherhood network. He pointed to U.S. reports citing combat and logistical roles played by members of the group during the Gaza war, making it “one of the most prominent candidates for designation.”
Political researcher and writer Dr. Makram Rabah, described the U.S. decision as “a direct pressure tool against Hezbollah and the system that supports it,” noting that the Islamic Group in Lebanon is viewed as “part of the Iranian axis, particularly through its ties to Hezbollah and Hamas.”
In remarks to Alhurra, Rabah said the pressure targets, for the first time, an actor outside the Shiite framework, “sending a clear message that the label of terrorism is not confined to a specific sect or religion.”
The Islamic Group in Lebanon, however, rejected the U.S. decision, describing it as “political and administrative, with no legal effect in Lebanon.” In a statement issued on Jan. 13, the group said it is legally licensed, operates openly under the law, rejects violence and terrorism, and affirms its commitment to civil peace and Lebanon’s stability.
From Preaching to Arms
Historically, the Islamic Group has served as the organizational extension of the Muslim Brotherhood in Lebanon. Its origins date back to the 1950s as a religious and social movement, before it was formally established in 1964. Over decades, it combined religious, educational, social, and political activities, participated in parliamentary elections, and formed shifting alliances with various Lebanese political forces.
The pivotal transformation occurred during Lebanon’s civil war, when the group established its military wing, the “Fajr Forces,” in 1982 following the Israeli incursion. Although the wing’s presence waned in later years, it resurfaced during the July 2006 war, and more forcefully after the outbreak of the Gaza war in 2023, when it announced its involvement in support operations launched from southern Lebanon.
With the election of Mohammed Fawzi Takkoush as secretary-general in 2022, the organization entered a new phase of political positioning, marked by closer alignment with Hezbollah and Hamas. In a speech delivered at a conference in Istanbul last April, Takkoush said the group had joined the Gaza war “in defense of Palestine and to discharge a moral obligation.”
What Comes After the Designation?
The U.S. designation places the Islamic Group, its members, organizational structure, and financial networks “under the microscope of direct U.S. targeting,” Amin said. He noted that such targeting could take multiple forms, ranging from intelligence surveillance to special operations that could include arrests or assassinations, should Washington deem them necessary to serve its security interests.
The designation also opens the door to wide-ranging legal, financial, and political repercussions inside and outside Lebanon. On the U.S. level, Amin explained, the decision allows for the freezing of any potential assets held by the group, the imposition of sanctions on individuals or entities that engage with it, and severe restrictions on its ability to operate or raise funds through international channels. These measures would involve heightened U.S. monitoring and follow-up, with Israeli participation in this process.
In its statement announcing the designation of Muslim Brotherhood branches, the U.S. Treasury Department said that, as a result of the action, all property and interests in property belonging to designated persons and entities that are located in the United States or under the control of U.S. persons are frozen, and that U.S. persons are prohibited from engaging in transactions with them.
It added that financial institutions and individuals involved in transactions or activities with sanctioned entities could themselves face the risk of sanctions.
At the regional and international levels, Amin predicted the imposition of strict limits on the movement of the group’s leaders and members, including in countries that previously served as hosts for some of them, such as Turkey and Qatar. He did not rule out the possibility of arrests or the seizure of assets and institutions abroad.
Domestically, human rights activist and lawyer Diala Shehadeh said that, “at the level of Lebanese law, and in the absence of any decision issued by the Lebanese judiciary or Parliament, the U.S. designation carries no direct legal consequences inside Lebanon, except in matters related to agreements concluded—or that may be concluded—between the Lebanese state and the United States.” She added that the effects of the designation remain tied to U.S. sanctions themselves and are binding on Lebanon only if it has committed to implementing them under bilateral agreements.
In remarks to Alhurra, Shehadeh noted that the sanctions “have a practical impact on banking transactions inside Lebanon involving the individuals concerned, given that Lebanese banks operate in U.S. dollars and are linked to international obligations with U.S. financial institutions.”
Politically, Amin said the designation would “significantly narrow the group’s room for maneuver and political alliances,” forcing it to exercise a high degree of caution in its relations with the so-called “axis of resistance,” particularly Hezbollah. He described the decision as “a pivotal turning point in the future of the group and its regional activity.”
Rabah, meanwhile, predicted that the group would enter “a phase of internal repositioning, particularly given the presence of a current within it that does not align with the Iranian orientation adopted by the leadership in recent years.”
This article is a translation of the original Arabic version.
