The Trump administration is preparing to impose direct sanctions on the International Criminal Court as an institution, a significant escalation from its initial strategy of targeting individual ICC officials. This measure, expected around September 20, 2026, would coincide with the UN General Assembly in New York and would prohibit any transactions with the ICC in the US dollar financial system. The US government has already sanctioned at least 13 ICC officials, including roughly half of the Court’s sitting judges, based on a national emergency renewed in January 2026. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is leading this push, driven notably by the ICC’s investigations into US military conduct in Afghanistan and arrest warrants issued against Israeli leaders in November 2024. Institutional sanctions would place the 124 states party to the Rome Statute in a delicate position, as their financial relationships with US institutions could be compromised.
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