The United States has sanctioned four International Criminal Court (ICC) officials, including a judge who authorised the arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.
The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said on Wednesday that Nicolas Yann Guillou, Nazhat Shameem Khan, Mame Mandiaye Niang and Kimberly Prost have been added to the Specially Designated Nationals list.
The State Department said Guillou was sanctioned for authorising arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, while Prost faced penalties for approving investigations into US personnel in Afghanistan.
Guillou, a French jurist, serves on the ICC's Pre-Trial Chamber I that issued the warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant in November 2024. The warrants accuse both officials of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
'Judicial overreach'
Deputy prosecutors Khan and Niang were designated for "continuing to support illegitimate ICC actions against Israel," including upholding the warrants targeting Israeli leadership since assuming prosecutor office leadership.
The State Department said sanctions were imposed under Executive Order 14203, which targets "malign efforts by the ICC" and aims to impose consequences on those engaged in "transgressions against the United States and Israel."
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused the four officials and the court of efforts to “investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute nationals of the United States or Israel, without the consent of either nation.”
“The United States has been clear and steadfast in our opposition to the ICC’s politicisation, abuse of power, disregard for our national sovereignty, and illegitimate judicial overreach,” he said in a statement, labelling the court as national security threat to Washington and Tel Aviv.
Property in US restricted
All property and interests of sanctioned individuals in the US or controlled by US persons are now blocked. Entities owned 50% or more by blocked persons are also sanctioned.
The OFAC also published a General License authorising the winding down of existing transactions with sanctioned individuals until 12.01am EDT (0401GMT) on September 19. But payments must be made into blocked interest-bearing accounts in the US, preventing those who are sanctioned from accessing funds.
The sanctions came amid an escalation between the US and the ICC, which Washington has not joined. In February, the Trump administration sanctioned the ICC and Prosecutor Karim Khan, accusing the court of "illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel."
Israel has killed more than 62,100 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023, devastating Gaza which faces famine. Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on Gaza.
