United States Announces Fresh Sanctions Targeting the International Criminal Court

The United States faced accusations of launching an assault on the global legal order after imposing additional sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Unveiling the Trump administration’s latest escalation against the court— which it claims is politicized and unfairly targets Americans with war‑crime allegations— Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared, “Either the ICC will end its threats, or we will end the ICC.”

The ICC accused Trump administration officials of attempting to obstruct the course of justice, noting that Rubio, just hours after a former ICC judge received the Nobel Peace Prize, announced in a video that the United States would move to impose financial sanctions.

We will ban transactions with this rogue court, cutting off its resources and crippling its ability to operate against us. Because our message is clear: the United States and the American people are not subject to the jurisdiction of this so‑called ICC,” Rubio said in a video posted on X. “We don’t need that court and we don’t want it.”

In a statement, the court warned that “history will judge this moment” and urged member states to safeguard its ability to function. It said, “This is an attempt to obstruct the course of justice and to prevent the Court from fulfilling the mandate for which it was created. It constitutes an assault on the rule of law and on the very foundations of the international legal order.”

The new sanctions will block any ICC assets held within U.S. jurisdictions and grant U.S. companies and individuals six months to wind down their dealings with the tribunal.

However, the sanctions also permit the ICC to address U.S. government concerns, with certain transactions exempted.

The Trump administration has repeatedly condemned the ICC for issuing arrest warrants against Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It also launched an investigation into the conduct of U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan, although that case has since been closed.

The ICC was established in 2002 as an international tribunal tasked with holding countries accountable for war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity.

Trump has long targeted the ICC. During his first term, he imposed sanctions on the court, which were later reversed by the Biden administration.

However, when Trump returned to office in 2025, he signed an executive order imposing sanctions on the ICC over its investigations of Israelis and Americans, and the administration has continued to levy additional sanctions since then.

The administration has also sanctioned ICC judges and lawyers, and in August it imposed further sanctions on ICC President Tomoko Akane.

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