Be respectful in your interactions with fellow members. You can Go Here to read our Terms and Rules. Visit My Profile to create your avatar and see your posts. If you to report a bug or issue, email us at support.GI US.com

Title: September 5, 2025

GRAY ZONE BRIEF 5 SEPTEMBER 2025
 
RUSSIA ECONOMIC WOES
 
Russian slowdown. The Russian economy fell into “technical stagnation” in the second quarter of this year and is experiencing a cooling period, Sberbank CEO German Gref said at an annual economic forum in Vladivostok. He also urged the central bank to further cut the key interest rate to help avoid a recession. Russia’s economic minister also said that, according to recent data, the Russian economy is cooling faster than expected.
 
U.S., ISRAEL & THE WEST BANK
 
Washington's view. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has indicated to Israeli officials that Washington would not object to an Israeli takeover of the West Bank, Axios reported There has been some dissension over the decision, however; U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff reportedly believes an annexation would complicate negotiations with Arab countries on a postwar plan for Gaza
.
ECONOMIC & DIPLOMATIC INFLUENCE
 
South Caucasus relations. Trade between Russia and Armenia could decline by half by the end of 2025 compared to last year, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk said amid the two countries’ deteriorating relations. Overchuk added that Armenia’s decision earlier this year to move ahead with joining the European Union would take a toll on its economic relations with Russia. Meanwhile, U.S. representatives are expected to arrive in Armenia next week to discuss the development of a transit corridor through Armenian territory that was part of a U.S.-brokered peace deal with Azerbaijan. Relatedly, Overchuk said that Russian-Azerbaijani relations were developing “very well” and that representatives from both countries held talks on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit earlier this week.
 
UN SANCTIONS ON IRAN
 
Pressure on Tehran. The secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, discussed the nuclear issue and the “snapback mechanism” in a call with British national security adviser Jonathan Powell. The U.K., along with France and Germany, last week moved to trigger the mechanism, which would reimpose U.N. sanctions against Iran that were removed in the 2015 nuclear deal. The parties have one month to reach a deal before the sanctions come into effect. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency on Wednesday urged Iran to agree on resuming inspections of its nuclear sites.
 
UKRAINE & THE PHILIPPINES
 
Drone development. Ukraine plans to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Philippines on joint production of drones and broader defense technology cooperation. Both sides are expected to agree on the details by October, after which Ukrainian officials will visit Manila for talks.
 
BOSNIA
 
Reshuffle. The parliament of Bosnia-Herzegovina's Serb-dominated region, Republika Srpska, approved former Agriculture Minister Savo Minic as its new prime minister. The appointment was part of a government reshuffle initiated by Milorad Dodik, who was removed from his position as the regional president last month by Bosnia’s election commission.
 
CHINA & PAKISTAN
 
Sense of urgency. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has urged China to expedite the implementation of infrastructure projects related to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Sharif made the request during talks with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing. The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to advancing the second phase of CPEC and witnessed the signing of cooperation agreements on infrastructure, IT, agriculture, media and science.
 
U.S. & KAZAKHSTAN
 
Ties to Central Asia. A delegation of business leaders, led by U.S. Chamber of Commerce Vice President Khush Choksy, arrived in Kazakhstan for talks on building economic ties. Representatives of more than 20 U.S. companies, as well as officials from relevant government agencies, held meetings in Astana and Almaty to discuss cooperation on rare earth metals, a possible logistics base and contracts between U.S. and Kazakh firms.
 
CENTCOM COMMANDER IN IRAQI KURDISTAN
 
Iraq visit. The new U.S. Central Command commander, Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, paid his first visit to Iraqi Kurdistan since taking over the role. He met with the regional president and prime minister to discuss the fight against the Islamic State and efforts to promote regional stability.
 
TAIWAN, POLAND & UKRAINE
 
Defense cooperation. A delegation of representatives from Taiwan’s defense industry signed a memorandum of understanding with Polish and Ukrainian counterparts on deepening cooperation in the unmanned aerial systems sector. The agreements were reached at an international defense industry forum in Poland.
 
GZB INFOCUS:
 
THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD
 
• The motto (https://ecrgroup.eu/files/MuslimBrotherhood.pdf) of the Muslim Brotherhood is:
"Allah is our objective, the Prophet is our leader, the Koran is our constitution, jihad is our way, dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope."
 
• The ultimate goal of the Muslim Brotherhood is to build a global Islamic caliphate based on Sharia law, meaning a complete end to the freedoms, sovereignty and democracy in the West and other parts of the world. The MB's ideology is Islamic supremacist, violent and totalitarian, undermining the security and liberties of various nations across the world.
 
• According to the Department of Justice, in the early 1990s, the Muslim Brotherhood, planned to establish a network of organizations in the US to spread a militant Islamist message and raise money for Hamas. The Texas-based Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF) became the chief fundraising arm for the Palestine Committee in the US, created by the MB to support Hamas. In 2008, HLF leaders were convicted of crimes, including providing material support for Hamas.
 
• “Jihad means the fighting of the unbelievers and involves all possible efforts that are necessary to dismantle the power of the enemies of Islam, including beating them, plundering their wealth, destroying their places of worship, and smashing their idols." — Muslim Brotherhood founder Hasssan al Banna, The Way of Jihad.
 
• Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated groups and networks are also exceedingly active in Europe and are richly funded by EU institutions.
 
• The question is not whether the US government should list the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization. The answer to that is clear: yes, it should. A more pressing question is why these pro-jihad, Islamic supremacist organizations affiliated with the MB have been allowed to operate on the US soil for all those years.
US Senator Ted Cruz, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Policy, on July 16 introduced (https://www.cruz.senate.gov/newsroom/in-the-news/sen-cruz-introduces-the-muslim-brotherhood-terrorist-designation-act) the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act of 2025. This bill implements a new, modernized strategy for designating the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) as a terrorist group.
Cruz said (https://www.cruz.senate.gov/newsroom/in-the-news/sen-cruz-introduces-the-muslim-brotherhood-terrorist-designation-act):
"The Muslim Brotherhood is a terrorist organization, and it provides support to Muslim Brotherhood branches that are terrorist organizations. One of those branches is Hamas, which on October 7 committed the worst single-day massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, which included the murder and kidnapping of at least 53 Americans. They are committed to the overthrow and destruction of America and other non-Islamist governments across the world, and pose an acute threat to American national security interests. American allies in the Middle East and Europe have already labeled the Brotherhood a terrorist organization, and the United States should do the same, and do so expeditiously."
 
The Muslim Brotherhood is a transnational Islamist organization that has networks and affiliates in the United States. While the US government has designated the Muslim Brotherhood's Palestinian branch, Hamas, and some of the MB's other affiliates as terrorist organizations, it has not designated the Muslim Brotherhood itself as a terrorist organization. The MB poses a significant threat not only to stability and security in the Middle East and North Africa but also in the US and Europe.
Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna openly announced that his aim was to bring back the Islamic caliphate. The Muslim Brotherhood's official English-language website quotes (https://web.archive.org/web/20100107010100/http:/www.ikhwanweb.com/article.php?id=17065) Banna:
"Islam does not recognize geographical boundaries, nor does it acknowledge racial and blood differences, considering all Muslims as one Umma [global community of Muslims]. The Muslim Brethren... believe that the caliphate is a symbol of Islamic Union and an indication of the bonds between the nations of Islam. They see the caliphate and its re-establishment as a top priority..."
According to a report by the Counter Extremism Project (https://www.counterextremism.com/sites/default/files/threat_pdf/Muslim%20Brotherhood-03262017.pdf) (CEP):
"Banna was concerned with what he considered the greatest threat to Islam: the rise of secularism and Western culture in Muslim societies. To counter this danger, Banna began dawa (proselytization) in schools, mosques, and coffee houses, spreading his pan-Islamist ideology and emphasizing the need to return to sharia.
 
"In the 1950s and 1960s, the Brotherhood's most notable theorist, Sayyid Qutb, promoted jihad as an offensive force to be used against secular Arab governments... Indeed, Qutb helped to re-popularize the Islamic concept of takfir, by which Muslims serving a secular ruler are rendered apostates and thus legitimate targets for execution."
 
Muslim Brotherhood networks raise money (https://extremism.gwu.edu/sites/g/files/zaxdzs5746/files/2023-10/hamas-networks-final.pdf)in the US to support Hamas's terrorist activities in the Middle East. According to the Department of Justice, in the early 1990s, the Muslim Brotherhood, planned (https://www.congress.gov/event/115th-congress/house-event/108532/text) to establish a network of organizations in the US to spread a militant Islamist message and raise money for Hamas. The Texas-based Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF) became (https://www.congress.gov/event/115th-congress/house-event/108532/text) the chief fundraising arm for the Palestine Committee in the US, created by the MB to support Hamas. In 2008, HLF leaders were convicted (https://www.congress.gov/event/115th-congress/house-event/108532/text) of crimes, including providing material support for Hamas.
 
In 2018, the State Department designated (https://www.state.gov/executive-order-13224)two offshoots of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, the Arms of Egypt Movement (HASM) and the Army of the Revolution, as terrorist organizations, under Executive Order 13224. The State Department noted that these groups were responsible for bombings and the assassinations of senior Egyptian officials.
On July 20, 2025, the Egyptian government announced (https://www.sis.gov.eg/Story/210925/Interior-ministry-foils-terror-plot-by-%E2%80%9CHasm%E2%80%9D-group?lang=en-us):
"The Ministry of Interior has successfully thwarted a terror plot planned by the 'Hasm' terrorist organization.
 
"The national security sector, in coordination with other security bodies, managed to identify the key operatives behind the plot.
"The security bodies had received a tip-off regarding the involvement of leaders of 'Hasm', the armed wing of the Muslim Brotherhood movement., that is currently residing in Turkey, in an attempt to reactivate the group's operations."
Countries including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates have designated the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization.
The Program on Extremism at George Washington University issued a report (https://extremism.gwu.edu/sites/g/files/zaxdzs5746/files/2023-10/hamas-networks-final.pdf) in 2023 entitled "The Hamas Networks in America: A Short History," which says in part:
"Hamas supporters have long operated in the United States. Internal Hamas documents and FBI wiretaps introduced as evidence in various federal criminal cases clearly show the existence of a nationwide Hamas network engaged in fundraising, lobbying, education, and propaganda dissemination dating back to the 1980s.
"The network formalized its existence in 1988, when it created the Palestine Committee in the US. The Committee's goals included 'increasing the financial and the moral support for Hamas,' 'fighting surrendering solutions,' and publicizing "the savagery of the Jews.'
'The Palestine Committee spawned several public-facing organizations, most of which are based out of Chicago, Dallas, and Washington DC. They included the all-purpose Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP), the financial arm represented by the Occupied Land Fund (which later became the Holy Land Foundation, HLF), and the think tank United Association for Studies and Research (UASR)...
"Over the years, US authorities have conducted several activities to clamp down on the network, including deporting and prosecuting Hamas operatives and shutting down multiple front organizations. The 2001 designation of HLF and subsequent prosecution of part of its leadership for funneling approximately $12.4 million to Hamas constitutes to date the largest successful terrorism financing prosecution in US history.
"Yet, US-based Hamas networks and individuals have displayed a remarkable resilience and many of the core activists of the Palestine Committee are still engaged in various forms of support (albeit at times purely political and not material) for Hamas."
During a 2018 hearing in the US House of Representatives regarding national security entitled "The Muslim Brotherhood's Global Threat," then US Rep. Ron DeSantis said (https://www.congress.gov/event/115th-congress/house-event/108532/text):
"The Muslim Brotherhood is a militant Islamist organization with affiliates in over 70 countries, including groups designated as terrorist organizations by the U.S. Whether the Muslim Brotherhood writ large should be designated as a foreign terrorist organization has been the topic of debate here in Congress in recent years and has been under consideration by the Trump administration.
"Thankfully, the Trump administration has discarded the Obama era policy of treating the Brotherhood as a potential ally. Now the questions are focused on how expansive to make the terror designation and whether it should be done through the State Department or Treasury Department.
"The Muslim Brotherhood has been militant from its very beginning. Its founder, Hassan al-Banna, who started the group in 1928, said that, quote: 'Jihad is an obligation from Allah and every Muslim and cannot be ignored nor evaded.'
"And in a book titled 'The Way of Jihad' he wrote: 'Jihad means the fighting of the unbelievers and involves all possible efforts that are necessary to dismantle the power of the enemies of Islam, including beating them, plundering their wealth, destroying their places of worship, and smashing their idols,' end quote....
"This jihadist ideology continues to fuel the Muslim Brotherhood today. The Brotherhood mourned the death of Osama bin Laden and its leaders developed teachings justifying revolutionary violence under sharia law. The Brotherhood has preached hatred towards Jews, denied the Holocaust, and called for Israel's destruction....
"Yusuf al-Qaradawi, perhaps the Brotherhood's preeminent cleric, issued a fatwa legitimizing terrorist attacks against American troops in Iraq. And he's also deemed the Holocaust to be a, quote, 'punishment for Jews,' and expressed hope that another Holocaust would someday be carried out by his fellow Islamists.
"The Muslim Brotherhood's Supreme Guide, Mohammed Badie, has said that the organization's goal is to establish a new Islamist caliphate, including the imposition of sharia law, which is the totalitarian Islamic legal code. We saw what happens when the Brotherhood takes control of a country in Egypt from 2012 to 2013, and the results were chilling, that then-President Mohamed Morsi defied the rule of law and granted himself near absolute power. As Egyptian leader Mohamed El Baradi put it, Morsi usurped all state powers and appointed himself Egypt's new pharaoh.
"The Brotherhood's legislators enshrined the principles of sharia as the main source of law in Egypt's Constitution, while the Morsi government used state institutions to promote Islamic radicalism, roll back freedom of the press, and launched a wave of blasphemy prosecutions.
"...The Brotherhood and its affiliates continue to advance their agenda across the Middle East and throughout the world.
"There's no question that the Muslim Brotherhood affiliates are involved in terrorism. Former FBI Director Robert Mueller confirmed as much in testimony before Congress when he said that elements of the Brotherhood, both here and overseas, have supported terrorism.
"A number of these Brotherhood affiliates have been designated as terrorist organizations by the United States Government. The Muslim Brotherhood's Palestinian branch Hamas has been a designated foreign terrorist organization since 1997. Hamas has taken control of the Gaza Strip, launched thousands of rockets against Israeli civilians, and committed suicide bombings and other terrorist attacks that have murdered numerous Israeli and American civilians....
"Between the radicalism of its hateful ideology, the danger of its theocratic rule, as seen in Egypt, its networks, including Hamas and HASM, and its powerful state sponsors, it is clear that the Brotherhood constitutes a real threat for the national security interests of the United States. We can debate the best way to counter this threat, but simply ignoring the threat is not an acceptable answer."
Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated groups and networks are also exceedingly active in Europe and are richly funded by EU institutions. In 2021, the European Conservatives and Reformists Group in the European Parliament issued a comprehensive report (https://ecrgroup.eu/files/MuslimBrotherhood.pdf), "Network of Networks: The Muslim Brotherhood in Europe," documenting the funds that the EU institutions have been granting to the Islamist groups. The report notes:
"The MB in Europe is not a single, centralized organization, but rather a starfish of different branches formally independent from one another, but linked by ideological patterns, common umbrella organisations and individual ties.
"Security agencies and parliamentary inquiries from multiple EU Member States have made a similar assessment of the damage MB-related organizations have been causing to security and social cohesion. Yet, this has not prevented state institutions from interfacing with the MB as privileged interlocutors and representatives of the local Muslim communities – a trend that ought to stop.
"The European Commission has fallen into the same trap, disbursing large amounts of money to finance MB organizations or empowering them and their members in different ways.
"Muslim Brotherhood-related groups in Europe possess access to significant financial resources. That is not surprising if we consider that, in 2012, Youssef Nada talked of the Ikhwan [Muslim Brotherhood] having over 100 million members worldwide. In 1996, the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe (FIOE) established the Europe Trust, to generate funds for its activities. The Europe Trust has since established an impressive property portfolio."
According to the report, the main Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated organizations in Europe include (https://ecrgroup.eu/files/MuslimBrotherhood.pdf) the Council of European Muslims (formerly Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe), the European Council for Fatwa and Research, the European Institute for Human Sciences, the Forum of European Muslim Youth and Student Organizations and the European Forum of Muslim Women.
 
Other MB-related organizations that receive EU funding include Islamic Relief, the Islamic University of Gaza, the Lokahi Foundation, and the Muslim Association of Ireland Friendly Society (MAI).
 
The report also notes:
"No one sums up the Muslim Brotherhood's eerie vision for Europe better than the figurehead of non-violent Islamism, Yusuf al-Qaradawi. As he stated on Qatar TV in July 2007: 'The peaceful conquest has foundations in this religion, and therefore, I expect that Islam will conquer Europe without resorting to the sword or fighting. It will do so by means of da'wa and ideology.'"
Meanwhile, in the Middle East, the Muslim Brotherhood is making a comeback – with the help of Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, one of the movement's hardcore supporters, following the takeover of Syria by the al Qaeda-affiliated Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in December 2024.
 
Turkish columnist Musa Ozugurlu notes (https://thecradleturkiye.com/articles/ihvanin-donusu-erdogan-bati-asyada-musluman-kardesleri-yeniden-canlandiriyor) in his article, "The Return of the Brotherhood: Erdoğan Revives the Muslim Brotherhood in West Asia":
"With the fall of Damascus, Erdoğan has a new opportunity to reassert the Muslim Brotherhood's influence across the Arab world, from Syria and Lebanon to Jordan and Yemen.
"Erdoğan envisioned reviving his neo-Ottoman ambitions through an ideological rapprochement with the Muslim Brotherhood during the Arab Spring. However, these plans were shelved as Brotherhood-affiliated movements faltered, particularly after the 2013 coup in Egypt.
"With the fall of Damascus and the shift in regional dynamics after 14 years, Erdoğan seized an opportunity to revive the Muslim Brotherhood's influence.
"This influence now extends far beyond Syria and Egypt, with Brotherhood-linked movements resurging in regions such as Lebanon, Jordan, and Yemen...
"As friction between Ankara and Arab capitals cools, Erdoğan is playing a long-term game. The Muslim Brotherhood remains his ideological twin and political instrument in both Türkiye and the Muslim world.
"While Erdoğan has softened his tone in public, he appears to continue to reassure the Muslim Brotherhood behind the scenes... The Muslim Brotherhood has found its most secure base not in Doha or Cairo, but in Erdoğan's Turkey.
"Whether it's negotiating maritime borders with Egypt in the Mediterranean, competing with Saudi Arabia for influence in West Asia, or reaching out to the broader Islamic world, Erdoğan will continue to seek partners to strengthen his position, and no other political movement is as close to the Muslim Brotherhood, ideologically or politically."
 
The motto (https://ecrgroup.eu/files/MuslimBrotherhood.pdf) of the Muslim Brotherhood is:
"Allah is our objective, the Prophet is our leader, the Koran is our constitution, jihad is our way, dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope."
The ultimate goal of the Muslim Brotherhood is to build a global Islamic caliphate based on Sharia law, meaning a complete end to the freedoms, sovereignty and democracy in the West and other parts of the world. The MB's ideology is Islamic supremacist, violent and totalitarian, undermining the security and liberties of various nations across the world.
 
The question is not whether the US government should list the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization. The answer to that is clear: yes, it should. A more pressing question is why these pro-jihad, Islamic supremacist organizations affiliated with the MB have been allowed to operate on the US soil for all those years.
 
Pray.
 
Train.
 
Stay informed.
 
Build resilient communities.
 
— END REPORT