The United States has imposed sanctions on the president of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and a senior prosecutor who was investigating crimes committed by Israel during its war on Gaza. The designations were announced by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who accused the Hague-based court of being a "corrupt and fatally politicized supranational court that has maliciously abused its authority and exceeded its mandate."
Who Was Sanctioned and Why
Rubio announced that the US would sanction Tomoko Akane of Japan, the ICC president, and Abdoulaye Seye of Senegal, an ICC senior trial lawyer. According to Rubio, they had "directly engaged in efforts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute officials whose government has not consented to ICC jurisdiction."
The State Department last month unveiled an effort to "dismantle the threat" posed by the ICC to US sovereignty. The ultimate goal was to "disable the ICC's ability to operate, target American servicemen or officials, or otherwise threaten American sovereignty," the department said in a statement.
Background of US-ICC Tensions
Rubio has called on the 125 member countries of the ICC to withdraw from the body. US President Donald Trump has said he is targeting the ICC because of the threat it poses to Israel. The US had previously sanctioned Karim Khan, an ICC prosecutor, who had successfully sought arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant over war crimes during the Gaza war. Trump in 2025 sanctioned the court, stating in an executive order that it had "engaged in illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel."
Rubio did not specify which efforts the two ICC officials had engaged in, but Israeli media have reported that Seye is also overseeing the investigation into Israeli funding for illegal settlements and the distribution of weapons to settlers in the West Bank. Israeli officials warned local media in May that the ICC may seek five more arrest warrants for ministers and senior military officials involved in violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
Impact and Reactions
The US has already designated at least 11 ICC officials for sanctions, stemming from cases that also include investigations into the actions of US soldiers in Afghanistan. Neither the US nor Israel are member states of the ICC or recognize its jurisdiction. Four human rights groups sued Trump last week for targeting the ICC. In the lawsuit, they said that the sanctions prevent victims of war crimes from seeking justice.
