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ICC president vows resistance to US sanctions amid Gaza genocide investigation

Iran Press TV

Monday, 01 December 2025 3:45 PM

The president of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Tomoko Akane, has vowed the tribunal will not yield to US pressure after Washington imposed sanctions on senior court officials over investigations into Israeli war crimes in Gaza.

"We never accept any kind of pressure from anyone on issues of interpretation of the statutory framework and adjudication of cases," Judge Akane told delegations from the ICC's 125 member states on the first day of the institution's annual meeting on Monday.

Earlier this year, US President Donald Trump sanctioned nine ICC staff members, including six judges and the chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, for pursuing cases involving American and Israeli officials.

Washington is now considering extending sanctions to the court as a whole.

The ICC chief noted that the sanctions, which include asset freeze and exclusion from the US financial system, have unsettled the family lives of targeted officials and disrupted their financial transactions, even in ICC member states in Europe.

Headquartered in The Hague, the ICC drew global attention in November last year when it ruled that there were "reasonable grounds" to conclude that the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former war minister Yoav Gallant bear "criminal responsibility" for "systematic war crimes and crimes against humanity" in Gaza.

Israel has so far killed over 70,000 Palestinians since launching the genocidal war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, before a ceasefire deal, brokered by the United States, was reached in the besieged strip last October.

Last month, the ICC refused Israel's appeal to rescind arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant. In a statement, the court said Israel's request to appeal the warrants is "not an appealable issue."

The US has previously imposed sanctions on court officials for their role in an investigation into crimes committed in Afghanistan that have been linked to US military actions.

Established in 2002, the ICC operates under a treaty that grants it the jurisdiction to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.

Notably, neither Israel nor the US is a member of the court, which recognizes the state of Palestine as a member and asserts jurisdiction over actions in Palestinian territories.

The court has no police force and relies on member states to execute arrest warrants.