The White House announced on Tuesday that the Trump administration is working to designate the Muslim Brotherhood a foreign terrorist organisation. The designation is expected to bring economic and travel sanctions against Egypt’s oldest Islamist movement, with more than a million members across the Middle East. “The president 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,” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in an email. According to a report by the New York Times, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi asked Trump to make the designation in a private meeting during a visit to Washington on April 9, a senior U.S. official said. Following the meeting, the Trump administration first directed security and diplomatic officials to find a way to impose sanctions on the Brotherhood. However, the decision has caused a rift between White House officials and Pentagon staff, according to the New York Times. On the one hand, US National Security Adviser John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo both support the move, yet career national security staff, government lawyers…
Trump Working to Designate Muslim Brotherhood a Terrorist Organisation
April 30, 2019
