Wednesday 10/December/2025 – 01:52 PM
An American official revealed in statements to Reuters that the US administration has threatened to impose new sanctions on the International Criminal Court unless it amends its founding document to ensure that President Donald Trump and senior officials of his administration are not investigated.
Washington threatens new sanctions against the International Criminal Court
The official said that Washington may impose sanctions on more court officials and perhaps on the court itself if it does not respond to its demand to drop investigations into Israeli leaders regarding the Gaza war and formally end the previous investigation into US forces in Afghanistan.
The report noted that applying sanctions to the court would significantly increase the United States’ campaign against the court, which has long been criticized by American officials from both the Republican and Democratic parties as violating US sovereignty.
The official, who preferred to remain anonymous, explained that Washington informed the court’s member states, some of whom are allies of the United States, of its demands, and also informed the court itself of them.
It is noteworthy that the United States is not a party to the Rome Statute, which established the International Criminal Court in 2002 as a court of last resort with the authority to try heads of state.
The official pointed out that there is growing concern that the court may turn its attention in 2029 to the president, vice president, secretary of war and others, and prosecute them, which the official described as unacceptable and they will not allow it to happen.
He pointed out that amending the Rome Statute to meet the demand of the United States would be a slow and difficult process, requiring the approval of two-thirds of the countries that ratified the system.
The court’s public affairs unit, which speaks on behalf of the court and its presidency, explained that amendments to the Rome Statute fall within the powers of member states, but it did not answer a question about whether Washington had requested judicial immunity for Trump.
He explained that the sanctions imposed on the court as an entity could affect its basic daily operations, including its ability to pay staff salaries and access bank accounts and routine office programs on its computers.
The American official indicated that there is open talk in international legal circles about the possibility of the court targeting Trump and senior officials of his administration in 2029, after the end of his presidential term, and added that the solution lies in amending the Rome Statute to clarify the lack of judicial jurisdiction towards them.
