U.S. Treasury building in Washington D.C. [AFP=Yonhap News]

The U.S. Donald Trump administration has designated the Egyptian, Jordanian, and Lebanese branches of the Islamist group Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist organizations subject to U.S. sanctions.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Department of State announced on the 13th (local time) that they designated these three branches of the Muslim Brotherhood as 'Specially Designated Global Terrorists' (SDGT).

The Lebanese Muslim Brotherhood has also been designated as a 'Foreign Terrorist Organization' (FTO).

The Secretary-General of the Lebanese Muslim Brotherhood, Muhammad Fawzi Takoush, has also been designated as an SDGT.

As a result of this designation, all their assets in the United States will be frozen, and transactions with U.S. persons will be prohibited.

"The Muslim Brotherhood has inspired, nurtured, and financed terrorist organizations like Hamas, and they pose a direct threat to the safety and security of American citizens and our allies," said John K.itively, Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.

According to the U.S. administration's explanation, the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas have cooperated in terrorist activities targeting Israel in the Middle East.

The Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood has also provided material support to Hamas and has been involved in activities collaborating with overseas entities to manufacture rockets, explosives, and drones.

The Lebanese Muslim Brotherhood has also collaborated with Hezbollah and Hamas to launch rockets from Lebanon toward northern Israel.

This designation is in accordance with President Trump's executive order.

Last November, President Trump signed an executive order directing the Secretaries of State and Treasury to initiate the process of designating these Muslim Brotherhood branches as terrorist organizations.

The Muslim Brotherhood, a Sunni Islamic fundamentalist organization founded in Egypt in 1928, is a broad political and social group operating across the Arab world and serves as the foundation for various Arab political parties. However, it has been designated as a terrorist organization in Egypt, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Syria, and Russia.