State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said Washington will keep working to “systematically dismantle” the ICC, accusing the court of illegally targeting U.S. personnel while sparing abusive authoritarian regimes.
The latest push builds on sanctions already imposed this year on senior ICC officials and a diplomatic effort pressing allies to reject the court’s authority and reconsider Rome Statute membership.
U.S. officials point to the ICC’s 2020 authorization of an Afghanistan war-crimes investigation that included U.S. troops and CIA officers, calling it jurisdictional overreach because the United States never joined the court.
The administration also says the tribunal failed to pursue cases tied to Iran, North Korea, Syria and ISIS, though the ICC’s reach is limited when alleged crimes occur in nonmember states without a U.N. Security Council referral.
The clash has deepened since the ICC issued arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, reinforcing Trump’s broader argument that the court threatens U.S. and allied sovereignty.