US Sanctions International Criminal Court; Rubio: ‘Either the ICC Will End Its Threats, or We Will End the ICC’

The United States imposed fresh sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) as an institution on Friday, Oct. 9, widening its campaign against the Hague-based tribunal.The move came only hours after the former ICC judge, Navi Pillay, won the Nobel Peace Prize. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the measure in a statement, first published by Reuters, designating the court under Executive Order 14203.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.“President Trump will never allow the International Criminal Court to prosecute Americans,” Rubio said. “This is why, today, the United States is sanctioning the International Criminal Court. We will ban transactions with this rogue court, cutting off their resources and crippling its ability to operate.”What the sanctions really meanEstablished in 2002, the ICC is a Netherlands-based court that prosecutes individuals accused of the gravest international crimes, including war crimes, genocide and other crimes against humanity.While most European and NATO countries are members, the US has never formally joined, and neither has Turkey.Washington has previously already sanctioned several ICC prosecutors and judges. However, the new step goes further, sanctioning the court itself and possibly penalizing companies that provide services to it.The Trump administration maintains that the US never accepted the authority to prosecute Americans. It has also objected to the court’s arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and to its investigation into the conduct of US soldiers in Afghanistan. Other Topics of Interest Russia Steps Up Production of Improved Su-34 ‘Fullback’ Bombers Russia received its second batch of upgraded Su-34M/NVO fighter bombers for 2026 on Wednesday as the manufacturer promises no let up in the aircraft’s rates of production. Russian President Vladimir Putin has also been placed under an ICC arrest warrant a year into the full-scale invasion, for the unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children from occupied territories of Ukraine to Russia. According to Reuters, the US Treasury issued four general licenses that allow some transactions linked to ICC telecommunications, software, pension payments and the court’s detainees shortly after the announcement was published.ICC officials had reportedly spent months preparing for sanctions, by replacing Microsoft software on office computers with open-source alternatives and setting up new arrangements for banking and health insurance.Rubio: ‘We don’t need it’In his official statement, Rubio argued that both Republicans and Democrats have long rejected the idea that the ICC could prosecute US citizens, troops or political leaders. “America never joined the court,” he said, reiterating that “we don’t need it. And we don’t want it.”The Trump administration, according to Rubio, had spent more than a year signaling what it expected from the court. It postponed the designation out of respect for its partners, hoping the ICC would change direction or that its member states would restrain it.“However, neither the ICC nor States Parties have yet taken meaningful steps to address our concerns,” he claimed, accusing those he described as globalist “experts” of wanting to target American servicemembers, Border Patrol agents and elected officials as possible targets via the court.While the sanctions were reportedly designed to leave the door open for diplomacy, giving member states a chance to negotiate a solution, Rubio also used the statement to issue a direct warning to US allies.“We expect our allies, many of whom are part of the ICC and that rely on American servicemembers for their defense, to rein in the court,” he said, adding that otherwise Washington would continue dismantling the court “brick by brick, until Americans are threatened no longer.”ICC issues a statement shortly after, vows to keep workingICC Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan told Reuters the sanctions “must be condemned,” adding that the court will continue working “across all our situations, our investigations and our prosecutions.”Shortly after the announcement of the sanctions, the ICC issued an official statement on its website, condemning the designation as an attempt to obstruct justice and intimidate those who work or cooperate with the court.“It is an assault on the rule of law and on the very foundations of the international legal order which strikes at the simple principle that no one stands above the law,” the statement read.It also described the designation as an unprecedented step that follows US sanctions against 13 of its judges and prosecutors.“The Court will continue to fully discharge its mandate, with independence and impartiality, acting only on the basis of the law and the evidence, for the sake of the countless victims of grave crimes,” ICC President Tomoko Akane said.Meanwhile, the Trump administration continues to openly oppose the court. During his first term, US President Donald Trump imposed targeted sanctions on court officials, which were later lifted by President Joe Biden.Reuters reported that the ICC Registrar Osvaldo Zavala Giler urged the EU to be ready to use its so-called “blocking mechanism” earlier this week – a tool that can protect European countries from sanctions applied beyond US borders.“No one should be punished for serving the cause of justice. History will judge this moment,” the ICC concluded in its statement.