Washington is Moving to Impose Comprehensive Sanctions on the International Criminal Court

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The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is preparing to impose wide-ranging sanctions on the International Criminal Court, in a new escalation of the confrontation between Washington and the court over its investigations and arrest warrants issued against Israeli officials.

According to a report published by the Wall Street Journal on Sunday, the upcoming measures will go beyond the sanctions that have so far targeted officials and judges at the court, to affect the institution itself and most dealings with it.

The newspaper reported that the sanctions will prevent most transactions with the International Criminal Court, but the implementation of the restrictions will begin after a grace period of 6 to 7 months, giving the parties dealing with it time to arrange their affairs before the measures take effect.

Targeting the court itself, if the plan is implemented as stated in the report, would significantly expand the scope of U.S. pressures compared to previous measures that focused on specific individuals.

According to the "Wall Street Journal", comprehensive sanctions could hinder the court's ability to access the dollar and the financial system, making it more difficult for institutions and companies that fear exposure to U.S. sanctions to deal with it.

The U.S. administration has not yet officially announced the final details of the new measures or when they will be issued.

This potential step is an extension of a path taken by the Trump administration against the court in the past period. Data from the U.S. Treasury Department shows that there is an existing sanctions program related to the International Criminal Court, along with licenses and procedures that define permissible transactions and exceptions to the restrictions.

In the latest announced action, the Treasury Department imposed sanctions related to the court on August 18, which included the court's president, Tomoko Akane, and Judge Abdullah Sai, while issuing a license allowing for the termination of certain transactions related to the sanctioned individuals.

The dispute between Washington and the court escalated after the latter issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on charges of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, charges that the two Israeli officials rejected.

Neither the United States nor Israel are members of the International Criminal Court. However, the court bases part of its jurisdiction regarding Palestinian territories on the membership of the State of Palestine, a matter that has remained a point of contention and objection from Washington and Israel.

The Trump administration claims that the court's actions against U.S. citizens and allies represent an overreach of its jurisdiction and a threat to American sovereignty, while the court asserts that it is an independent judicial institution operating under the Rome Statute. Several European countries and supporters of the court have pledged to defend its independence and operations.

If Washington approves the new sanctions, the confrontation will shift from targeting individuals within the court to broader financial and institutional restrictions on the court itself, with a transitional period of up to 7 months before the ban on most transactions with it begins.