The decision is said to be based on the court's arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“The US will take all necessary measures to protect our sovereignty, Israel's sovereignty, and all other American allies from illegitimate actions by the ICC,” says Marco Rubio in the statement.
The four judges come from Benin, Peru, Slovenia, and Uganda. According to the US Department of State, they will now have their assets in the US frozen.
“These measures are a clear attempt to undermine the independence of an international judicial institution,” says ICC spokesperson Fadi El Abdallah in a statement.
Among the sanctions-listed judges is Reine Alapini-Gansou, who was part of the panel of judges that issued the arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2023. Russia responded by issuing its own arrest warrant against her last year.
In February of this year, the Trump administration also imposed sanctions on ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan, which made him lose access to his email account and have bank accounts frozen. Employees of the court have previously told the AP news agency that the sanctions in practice make it impossible for the court to work.
