The Muslim Brotherhood is facing growing international isolation after US President Donald Trump moved to designate its branches in Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon as terrorist organizations.
Argentina has joined the list of countries banning the Brotherhood, announcing on Thursday that it had added the group’s branches in Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon to its terrorist organizations list, a statement from the office of President Javier Milei said.
Experts and researchers said Trump’s decision would expand the international ban on Brotherhood branches, adding that more countries were likely to take similar steps, although the US measures would not affect all of the group’s branches abroad.
The Argentine move came two days after the US Treasury and State Departments announced on Tuesday the designation of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, along with its branches in Jordan and Lebanon, as terrorist organizations.
Argentina’s government said its decision was based on official reports proving the existence of illicit cross-border activities, including terrorist acts and public calls for violent extremism, as well as links to other terrorist organizations and their potential impact on the Argentine Republic.
It added that the measure would strengthen mechanisms to prevent terrorism, detect it early, and punish its financiers, ensuring that members of the Brotherhood and their allies do not evade accountability.
Maher Farghaly, a researcher on Islamist movements, said the US president’s decision against the Brotherhood would encourage other countries to ban the group and its branches abroad.
He told Asharq Al-Awsat that countries in Latin America, such as Colombia and Venezuela, were expected to take similar steps to classify the group as a terrorist organization.
Farghaly said the successive bans on the Brotherhood were accompanied by similar European moves in Austria and Sweden.
He added that the key issue was the extent to which international decisions would affect the group’s activities abroad, noting that the US measures were partial because they targeted specific branches near Israel, while other Brotherhood-affiliated groups operating under different names were not covered.
In its official statement, Washington said branches of the Muslim Brotherhood claimed to be legitimate civil organizations while secretly and enthusiastically supporting terrorist groups such as Hamas.
Accordingly, the Office of Foreign Assets Control designated the Egyptian and Jordanian branches of the Brotherhood for providing material support to Hamas, classifying them as specially designated global terrorists under counterterrorism authority set out in Executive Order 13224, as amended.
International moves to isolate the Brotherhood confirm the validity of the Arab and Egyptian view of the group, Farghaly said, noting that Cairo had been among the first to designate the Brotherhood as a terrorist organization.
Egypt has classified the Brotherhood as a terrorist group since 2013.
Most of its leaders, including its supreme guide, Mohamed Badie, are imprisoned in Egypt on charges related to violence and killings that took place after the group was removed from power that year.
Other members have fled abroad and are wanted by the Egyptian judiciary, and are currently running the organization amid deep internal divisions, according to observers.
International counterterrorism expert Hatem Saber said the Brotherhood was facing international isolation following recent US decisions.
He said the designation would restrict the group’s movements, particularly in Egypt, Lebanon, and Jordan.
Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, he said the decision's impact included freezing the group’s funds, banning its members' travel, preventing them from receiving any support, and criminalizing any individual or institution that provides assistance to the group.
Saber said it would be difficult to impose a comprehensive cross-border ban on the entire organization because of legal challenges in classifying affiliated groups that operate under different names.
He added that Washington’s measures would not apply only within the United States but would also affect any external transactions involving the banned branches.
