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Iran, Turkey Reject Trump’s Move to Classify Muslim Brotherhood as Terrorist Organization

US President Donald Trump meets with Egypt President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi at the White House in Washington, US, April 9, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
US President Donald Trump meets with Egypt President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi at the White House in Washington, US, April 9, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
    Ankara - Cairo - Washington - Saeed Abdelrazek - Mohamed Nabil Helmy - Asharq Al-Awsat
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Iran, Turkey Reject Trump’s Move to Classify Muslim Brotherhood as Terrorist Organization

US President Donald Trump meets with Egypt President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi at the White House in Washington, US, April 9, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
US President Donald Trump meets with Egypt President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi at the White House in Washington, US, April 9, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Turkey and Iran on Wednesday criticized the United States over President Donald Trump's attempt to classify the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization.
 
Ankara has rejected the US move, which the White House confirmed on Wednesday, saying it would promote "anti-Islamism" in the West and around the world.
 
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, for his part, accused Washington of supporting terrorism in the region, stressing that Tehran opposed the inclusion of the "Muslim Brotherhood" on the US list of "terrorist organizations."
 
“The US is not in position to (..) start naming others as terror organizations and we reject by any attempt by the US in this regard,” Zarif was quoted by Reuters as saying. “The US is supporting the biggest terrorist in the region, that is Israel,” he added.
 
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said that Trump “has consulted with his national security team and leaders in the region who share his concern and this designation is working its way through the internal process.”
 
According to Reuters, the inclusion of the Muslim Brotherhood on the US list allows sanctions to be imposed on those who have relations with the group, which is classified as terrorist in a number of Arab countries.
 
The US announcement comes three weeks after Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi's visit to Washington. According to the New York Times, which revealed information about Trump's attempt to classify the Muslim Brotherhood, the president’s initiative faces strong objections, especially within the Pentagon.
 
Egypt did not officially comment on the US move against the Muslim Brotherhood, but members of the parliamentary foreign relations committee welcomed it.
 
The Egyptian authorities have classified the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist entity since December 2013, in the wake of a booby-trapped car explosion against a security directorate in an Egypt province, which killed 16 people.

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Russia, China ‘Emerging Axis’ Troubling, Says Australia Intelligence Chief

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a flower-laying ceremony at the Monument to Minin and Pozharsky, commemorating Russian national heroes Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky, on National Unity Day in Red Square, in Moscow, Russia, 04 November 2024. Russia's National Unity Day (or Day of People's Unity) is celebrated this year from 04 to 07 November. (EPA/ Mikhail Tereshchenko/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool)
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a flower-laying ceremony at the Monument to Minin and Pozharsky, commemorating Russian national heroes Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky, on National Unity Day in Red Square, in Moscow, Russia, 04 November 2024. Russia's National Unity Day (or Day of People's Unity) is celebrated this year from 04 to 07 November. (EPA/ Mikhail Tereshchenko/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool)
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Russia, China ‘Emerging Axis’ Troubling, Says Australia Intelligence Chief

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a flower-laying ceremony at the Monument to Minin and Pozharsky, commemorating Russian national heroes Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky, on National Unity Day in Red Square, in Moscow, Russia, 04 November 2024. Russia's National Unity Day (or Day of People's Unity) is celebrated this year from 04 to 07 November. (EPA/ Mikhail Tereshchenko/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool)
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a flower-laying ceremony at the Monument to Minin and Pozharsky, commemorating Russian national heroes Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky, on National Unity Day in Red Square, in Moscow, Russia, 04 November 2024. Russia's National Unity Day (or Day of People's Unity) is celebrated this year from 04 to 07 November. (EPA/ Mikhail Tereshchenko/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool)

The head of Australia's national intelligence office said an "emerging axis" of countries providing support to Russia, including China, Iran and North Korea, was "a profoundly troubling strategic development" that western countries were struggling to catch up with.

Director-General of the Office of National Intelligence, Andrew Shearer, said on Wednesday that the strategic impact of an emerging axis, that had China and Russia at its core, had been underestimated.

"The massive provision by China of dual use assistance to Putin, and economic support and diplomatic support is keeping Putin's army in the field in Ukraine, killing innocent Ukrainians just as surely as if they were providing artillery ammunition and missiles," Shearer said at the Raisina Downunder conference in Canberra.

He also listed the provision of Iranian drones, and North Korean missiles and combat troops to Russia. South Korea and the US say around 10,000 North Korean troops have arrived in Russia to support its war against Ukraine.

"This is a profoundly troubling strategic development and we are all grappling to catch up with it and put in place effective measures, but I think this is one of the strategic challenges of our time," Shearer said.

Australia is a member of the Five Eyes intelligence partnership with the US, Britain, Canada and New Zealand. Shearer is the top advisor to Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on intelligence matters.