The State Department has designated the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist amid reports that the Islamist militia is looking to support Iran in its fight against the U.S. and Israel.
The State Department said Monday in a statement that Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood fighters have received extensive training and other support from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The organization’s al-Baraa Bin Malik Brigade has used the Iran-funded training to carry out mass executions of civilians based on “race, ethnicity, or perceived affiliation with opposition groups,” the department said.
The global terrorist designation is intended to cut off the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood from U.S. financial institutions and markets, barring any individual affiliated with the organization from doing business with Americans. It also allows the Treasury Department to disrupt terrorists’ access to funds in the United States.
The State Department had sanctioned the al-Baraa Bin Malik Brigade in September. The brigade is an integral part of the Sudanese government’s frontline operations against rebel groups in the south, and it often fights alongside the Sudanese Armed Forces.
The sanctions follow the release of a video last week featuring Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood Commander Al-Naji Abdullah in military uniform vowing to send fighters to Iran if the U.S. and Israel launch a ground invasion. Mr. Abdullah is also active in the Sudanese Islamic Movement, an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood.
“Our rifles and cannons are ready, and we possess advanced generations of drones. By God, we will send all our battalions to Iran, and you will find us there,” Mr. Abdullah told a crowd of fighters last Wednesday.
The video also showed militia member Awais Ghanem condemning Israel’s actions and expressing support for Iran.
The Sudanese Armed Forces arrested Mr. Abdullah shortly after the video was released and publicly disavowed the Malik Brigade. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Chairman of the Transitional Military Council in Sudan, said the government would not allow uniformed soldiers to make similar statements and would take action against Islamist elements within the armed forces.
The incident exposes the longstanding ties between Sudan’s military leadership, Islamist militia and Iran. Tehran and Khartoum reestablished relations in 2023, and analysts have since noticed Iranian-made weapons and drones being found in the hands of the Sudanese Armed Forces.
