United States President Donald Trump has imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC), with Washington threatening to cut off the institution’s resources and cripple its operations.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the measures on Friday, accusing the court of targeting Americans and describing it as a “rogue court”.
“President Trump will never allow the International Criminal Court to prosecute Americans,” Rubio said in a statement.
He added that the sanctions would restrict transactions with the court and weaken its ability to operate.
The move reflects Washington’s longstanding opposition to the ICC, particularly over its arrest warrants against Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and its past investigation into alleged crimes committed by US soldiers in Afghanistan.
However, the ICC’s Deputy Prosecutor, Nazhat Shameem Khan, condemned the sanctions, saying they would not stop the court from carrying out its duties.
She told Reuters that the measures were intended to undermine international law and the work of an independent judicial institution.
“Our work will continue across all our situations, our investigations and our prosecutions,” Khan said.
Established in 2002, the ICC prosecutes individuals accused of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The court has 125 member states, including all European Union countries, while the United States is not a member.
The latest measures could have wider consequences than previous US sanctions targeting individual ICC officials because they may affect companies providing services to the court.
US sanctions generally restrict American companies from doing business with designated entities, potentially disrupting access to banking, insurance and software services.
However, the US Treasury issued four general licences shortly after the announcement, permitting certain transactions involving the ICC’s telecommunications, software, pension payments and detainees.
The court had reportedly begun preparing for possible sanctions by moving some computers away from Microsoft software to open-source alternatives and arranging alternative banking and health insurance services.
Rubio said Washington had delayed the measures in the hope that the ICC and countries that are parties to its founding Rome Statute would address US concerns.
“Either the ICC will end its threats, or we will end the ICC,” he said.
He also urged US allies that belong to the court to help rein in its activities, arguing that many of those countries rely on American military personnel for their defence.
The sanctions were announced on the same day South African jurist Navi Pillay, a former ICC Appeals Chamber judge, received the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize.
The Nobel committee said the award highlighted the importance of international law at a time when judges and legal institutions face political pressure.
The development is expected to intensify diplomatic tensions between Washington and European allies, many of which are members of the ICC.
