The US sanctioned International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim Khan on Thursday, following an executive order by President Donald Trump aimed at countering the court’s “illegitimate and baseless actions” against the US and its close ally, Israel.
According to the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, ICC prosecutor Karim Khan’s US assets have been frozen, and his entry into the United States may be restricted.
In a February 6 executive order, President Trump condemned the ICC, which had been established by the Rome Statute, for engaging in what he described as illegitimate and baseless actions against the United States and its close ally, Israel.
Trump’s order asserted that the ICC had wrongfully claimed jurisdiction and launched preliminary investigations into US and allied personnel, including Israelis, without legitimate authority. It further criticized the court for abusing its power by issuing arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
The statement emphasized that the ICC has no jurisdiction over the United States or Israel, as neither country is a party to the Rome Statute nor recognizes the court’s authority. Both nations, it argued, are thriving democracies with militaries that strictly adhere to the laws of war. The order warned that the ICC’s actions set a dangerous precedent, putting current and former US personnel, including active service members, at risk of harassment, abuse, and potential arrest.
The President concluded that this overreach threatens US sovereignty and undermines critical national security and foreign policy efforts, particularly in coordination with allies such as Israel.
The ICC’s president Judge Tomoko Akane condemned Trump’s order, while United Nations deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq on Thursday described the court as “a fundamental pillar of international justice.”
In 2002, Congress passed the American Servicemembers’ Protection Act to safeguard US military personnel, officials, and allied forces from prosecution by international criminal courts to which the United States is not a party. The law warned that the Rome Statute not only exposed US service members to potential prosecution but also posed a risk to the President and other senior US officials.
