The US is considering imposing sanctions as soon as this week against the entire International Criminal Court, putting the court’s day-to-day operations in jeopardy in retaliation for investigations of suspected Israeli war crimes.
Washington has already imposed targeted sanctions on several prosecutors and judges at the court, but naming the court itself in the sanctions list would be a major escalation.
Six sources with knowledge of the matter, all speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive diplomatic issue that has not been publicly announced, said a decision on such “entity sanctions” was expected soon.
A source said court officials had already held emergency internal meetings to discuss the impact of potential blanket sanctions. Two other sources said meetings had also been held of court member state diplomats.
One US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, 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 and said that Washington was going to take further steps although the spokesperson did not say exactly what.
“It (the ICC) has the opportunity to change course by making critical and appropriate structural changes. The US will take additional steps to protect our brave service members and others as long as the ICC continues to present a threat to our national interests,” the spokesperson said.
Salaries paid in advance
Sanctions applied to the court as an entity could affect its basic day-to-day operations, from its ability to pay its staff, to its access to bank accounts and routine office software on its computers.
To mitigate the potential damage, ICC staff received salaries this month in advance for the rest of 2025, three sources said, though this is not the first time the court has paid wages in advance as a precaution in case of sanctions.
The court is also seeking alternative suppliers for banking services and software, three sources said. The ICC, based in The Hague, has indicted Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as figures from the Hamas militant group, for alleged crimes committed during the Gaza war. Washington has previously targeted court officials with sanctions for their roles in those cases and in a separate investigation into suspected crimes in Afghanistan, which initially had looked at actions by US troops.
