U.S. Sanctions the International Criminal Court, Vowing to Dismantle It ‘Brick by Brick’

WASHINGTON, Oct. 9 (TodayViralUSA) — The Trump administration imposed sweeping sanctions on the International Criminal Court itself on Friday, escalating a yearlong campaign against the Hague-based tribunal that U.S. officials say threatens to prosecute Americans and allies without consent.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States would “ban transactions with this rogue court, cutting off their resources and crippling its ability to operate.” In a video message he framed the choice bluntly: “Either the ICC will end its threats, or we will end the ICC.”

The State Department said the court is being designated under section 1(a)(ii)(A) of Executive Order 14203. Assets of the ICC under U.S. jurisdiction are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally barred from dealing with the institution. The administration had already sanctioned more than a dozen ICC judges and prosecutors; Friday’s step targets the court as an entity.

A 180-day diplomatic window

Alongside the designation, the Treasury Department issued general licenses allowing limited activity — including a 180-day license for certain maintenance and operations, plus authorizations for some IT services, pension-plan matters and detainee-related work — while ICC member states are pressed to address Washington’s concerns.

Rubio said the United States deferred the institutional designation for more than a year in hopes the court or its States Parties would change course. “Neither the ICC nor States Parties have yet taken meaningful steps,” he said, while still holding out hope for a negotiated solution.

The administration’s objections center on ICC investigations that could reach U.S. personnel in Afghanistan and on arrest warrants related to Israel’s leadership over the Gaza war. The United States never joined the Rome Statute; Israel is also not a party. The court has long held that it can examine crimes committed on the territory of member states even when suspects are nationals of non-members.

ICC calls the move an assault on the rule of law

ICC President Tomoko Akane said the designation is “an assault on the rule of law” and an attempt to obstruct justice and intimidate those who cooperate with the court. “The Court will continue to fully discharge its mandate, with independence and impartiality,” she said, appealing to the 125 States Parties to ensure the institution has resources to continue operating.

Rubio urged allies that rely on U.S. forces for their defense to “rein in the court,” warning that otherwise Washington would keep dismantling the ICC “brick by brick.” The move follows Rubio’s recent Athens speech criticizing transfers of national authority to international bureaucracies and lands amid an already strained relationship between the Trump administration and European partners over accountability for wartime conduct.