The United States is considering imposing sanctions “as soon as this week against the entire International Criminal Court” in retaliation for investigations of suspected Israeli war crimes, news agency Reuters has reported.
Such a move would put the court’s operations in jeopardy.
Washington has already imposed targeted sanctions on several prosecutors and judges at the court, but has not named the court itself.
One US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, confirmed that entity-wide sanctions were being weighed but did not elaborate on the timing of the possible move.
A state department spokesperson accused the court of asserting what it said was its “purported jurisdiction” over US and Israeli personnel.
The UN-backed International Criminal Court (ICC) in November 2024 issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant, citing allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
