US PLANS BROAD SANCTIONS PACKAGE TARGETING INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT

Mon 21 September 2026:

The Trump administration is preparing to implement expansive economic sanctions against the International Criminal Court (ICC), The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.

The upcoming US penalties would prohibit most financial and commercial transactions with the international tribunal following a grace period of six to seven months, according to the newspaper.

The planned sanctions mark a significant escalation in the Trump administration’s punitive actions, shifting from targeting individual court personnel to imposing broad restrictions across the entire organization.

Sources cited in the report indicated that Washington could finalize the executive measures as soon as this week during the UN General Assembly session or shortly thereafter.

Washington has already penalized numerous tribunal personnel, including ICC President Tomoko Akane, under an executive order issued in February 2025 that declared a national emergency over court proceedings.

The sustained campaign follows the ICC issuing arrest warrants in 2024 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

A State Department spokesman declined to preview any sanctions decisions, the Journal said.

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The ICC issued arrest warrants in November 2024 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, including using starvation as a method of warfare. Warrants also targeted Hamas leaders.

Neither the United States nor Israel is a party to the Rome Statute, so both reject the court’s jurisdiction over their nationals. The U.S. views the ICC as exceeding its authority and politicized.

After Trump returned to office, he signed an executive order in February 2025 declaring a national emergency. Washington then sanctioned more than a dozen ICC officials—judges, prosecutors, the president, and others—plus some Palestinian groups, freezing assets and restricting travel and U.S. financial services. These targeted people involved in the Gaza warrants and an earlier Afghanistan probe.

As of September 2026, the administration is preparing far broader sanctions on the ICC as an institution. After a six-to-seven-month grace period, most transactions with the court would be banned for U.S. persons and companies. This could cut off dollar access and disrupt payments, IT, and operations. The aim is to isolate the court and pressure it to drop the cases.

The ICC calls the measures an attack on judicial independence. Several countries have withdrawn or considered leaving.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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