United States has levied economic and travel sanctions on International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan, marking the first time an official has been targeted under measures authorized by former President Donald Trump. The sanctions are to punish the tribunal for investigating US citizens and allies, two sources familiar with the decision told Reuters on Friday.
Khan, a British national, was named in an annex to an executive order Trump signed a day earlier, though the list has not yet been made public. The sanctions freeze any US assets Khan holds and bar him and his family from entering the country. A senior ICC official and another source, both briefed by US officials, confirmed the decision anonymously due to the matter’s sensitivity.
Orders call for Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, on coordination with Marco Rubio, a secretary of State, to list other individuals they should be targeting within 60 days.
Condemning and standing by his staff, it vowed to do justice to these victims of crimes against war ICC. Court leaders met at Hague to deliberate this action taken in the US.
The sanctions have triggered an international outcry. A coalition of 79 nations, which accounts for two-thirds of ICC member states, cautioned that the move may weaken efforts to prosecute serious crimes and undermine international law.
Trump’s move came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Washington. Netanyahu praised the sanctions, terming the ICC a “scandalous” institution that threatens democratic nations’ right to self-defense.
Despite the sanctions, officials at the United Nations again stressed the significance of international criminal law and the independence of the ICC, calling for nothing to disrupt its work.