US Labels Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Group

The United States has designated the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization, expanding the Trump administration’s campaign against the Islamist movement and its affiliates across the Middle East.

The announcement came Monday from the US State Department, which accused the Sudanese branch of the Muslim Brotherhood of receiving support from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Washington formally classified the group as a “specially designated global terrorist” (SDGT) and said it plans to elevate the designation to a “foreign terrorist organisation” (FTO) next week.

Under US law, the SDGT label allows the government to impose economic sanctions, while the FTO designation makes it illegal for individuals or organizations to provide material support to the group.

In a statement announcing the decision, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the organisation had been involved in violent activities during Sudan’s ongoing conflict.

“The Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood uses unrestrained violence against civilians to undermine efforts to resolve the conflict in Sudan and advance its violent Islamist ideology,” Rubio said.

The State Department also accused Muslim Brotherhood fighters of carrying out “mass executions of civilians” during the fighting in Sudan.

The designation comes as Sudan continues to face a brutal civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a powerful paramilitary group.

The RSF and its supporters have frequently framed the conflict as a struggle against Muslim Brotherhood elements embedded within Sudan’s military and political structures.

Washington’s move was quickly welcomed by the United Arab Emirates, which has supported the RSF during the conflict.

In a statement Monday, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the decision reflected broader efforts by the Trump administration to curb violence in Sudan.

The “US measure reflects the sustained and systematic efforts undertaken by the administration of President Trump to halt excessive violence against civilians and the destabilizing activities carried out by the Muslim Brotherhood in Sudan,” the ministry said.

The latest step is part of a broader policy shift by the Trump administration. Earlier this year, the United States blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood-linked organizations in Lebanon, Jordan and Sudan, decisions that those groups have rejected.

The Muslim Brotherhood itself dates back to 1928, when Egyptian scholar Hassan al-Banna founded the movement as a religious and social reform organization.

Over time, it developed branches and affiliated movements across the Middle East, some of which operate as political parties or civil society organizations.

Leaders of the movement and its affiliates have long argued that they support participation in electoral politics and peaceful political activity.

In the United States and parts of Europe, however, the organization has been the subject of ongoing political debate. Conservative activists and several lawmakers have for years pushed for the broader Muslim Brotherhood network to be designated as a terrorist group.

tags: United States, Sudan, Muslim Brotherhood, Marco Rubio, terrorism designation, Sudan conflict, Rapid Support Forces, US foreign policy