Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has praised the U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio after the Trump administration announced new sanctions on top International Criminal Court officials. Netanyahu posted on X that the ICC has become a kangaroo court that cloaks its abuse of power in the language of international law while undermining the very principles of justice.
He wrote: “I commend Secretary of State Marco Rubio for leading the Trump Administration’s determined efforts against the ICC’s illegitimate overreach, and for making clear that the corrupt officials who lead the ICC will face consequences.”
Rubio announced sanctions against ICC President Tomoko Akane of Japan and Senior Trial Lawyer Abdoulaye Seye of Senegal. In his X post he said: “Last month, I launched a diplomatic campaign to dismantle the ICC’s threat to our national sovereignty. The Trump Administration is sanctioning ICC President Tomoko Akane and Senior Trial Lawyer Abdoulaye Seye in our unwavering mission to protect Americans from this sham of a court. In honor of our Declaration of Independence, Americans will never be transported beyond seas to be tried for pretend offenses.”
US expands pressure campaign on the international court
The sanctions include asset freezes, travel bans, and restrictions on services from U.S. companies. Rubio said the two officials were being targeted for engaging in the ICC’s efforts to prosecute officials whose government has not consented to ICC jurisdiction. The Trump administration has already announced sanctions on at least 11 ICC officials, including nine judges and the chief prosecutor.
According to a BBC report, the latest sanctions mark a further step in the Trump administration’s campaign to dismantle the court, which is empowered by more than 120 member countries to investigate war crimes. Rubio accused the court of being “a corrupt and fatally politicized supranational court that has maliciously abused its authority and exceeded its mandate.” He then added: “We will not tolerate its assault on state sovereignty.”
The earlier sanctions were issued in response to ICC investigations into U.S. personnel in Afghanistan and for warrants the court issued against top Israeli officials, including Netanyahu, over alleged war crimes in Gaza. Netanyahu has denied the allegations of war crimes and accused the court of being motivated by antisemitism. Neither the United States nor Israel are members of the ICC.
The state of Palestine became a member in 2015, which opened the way for the court’s examination of crimes alleged to have been committed on Palestinian territory.
Trump’s opposition to the court dates back to his first term, when he described the ICC as a threat and told the UN General Assembly that it has “no jurisdiction, no legitimacy, and no authority” as far as the United States is concerned. Last month, Rubio called on the ICC’s 125 member countries to withdraw from the court as part of a U.S. government campaign to dismantle it “brick by brick.” A U.S. official said Washington would watch with interest who heeded the call and who did not.
The ICC, established in 2002, has international jurisdiction to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in member states or if a situation is referred by the UN Security Council. In a statement, the court said on Tuesday it stands behind its staff and believes that measures such as those announced by Rubio “undermine the rule of law.”
It added: “Measures targeting judges, prosecutors and staff who work towards the fulfilment of the mandate that was conferred to the ICC by States undermine the rule of law. When judicial actors are threatened for applying the law, it is the international legal order itself that is placed at risk.”
Rights organizations have pushed back against the Trump administration’s actions. Liz Evenson, international justice director at Human Rights Watch, said during a press conference last week: “The Trump administration seeks a get-out-of-jail-free card for whomever it chooses.”
Four leading U.S. human rights groups sued the Trump administration over its campaign to dismantle the ICC, calling it unconstitutional. The administration’s stance has drawn sharp criticism, as seen when Marco Rubio confirms a new U.S. goal for Iran is to try to return it to the way it was before Trump’s failed war.
Human Rights Watch, the Open Society Institute, the American Friends Service Committee, and the Center for Constitutional Rights said in their lawsuit filed in New York that the sanctions prevented them from working with the court to seek justice for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity around the world.
In June, three ICC judges also sued the administration in a New York federal court over sanctions imposed on them last year, arguing the measures were unlawful. Judges Kimberly Prost of Canada, Solomy Balungi Bossa of Uganda and Reine Alapini-Gansou of Benin said the sanctions were designed to exert extrajudicial pressure with the objective of punishing and coercing the judges.
At the time, a White House official said that Trump had lawfully exercised his authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act in imposing the sanctions. Rubio has framed U.S. foreign policy in terms of national cost, such as when he argued the U.S. is insulated from the Iran war but Americans are paying a price.
Sanctions severely limit individuals’ abilities to carry out even routine financial transactions, as any banks with ties to the United States, or that conduct transactions in dollars, are expected to comply with the restrictions. Since Trump returned to office, his administration, led by Rubio, has taken a more aggressive stand towards the court. In a July video statement announcing the campaign to dismantle the court, Rubio accused the ICC of “waging a war against our country” with “statutes, compacts and the force of so-called international law.”
He added: “Today, it threatens every aspect of our political and legal system. If they believe they can deprive us of our sovereignty, we will teach them the full meaning of American resolve.”
Published: Aug 19, 2026 07:54 am