US sanctions against ICC judges grant ‘impunity’ to wanted criminals: FM spox
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei on Friday denounced a recent move by the United States to sanction more staff members at the International Criminal Court (ICC), saying the measure amounts to granting brazen and brutal impunity to wanted criminals.
“While genocidal war criminals continue to freely commit crimes against humanity, the US Department of State is intensifying a campaign of intimidation and sanctions against those who seek to hold these criminals accountable,” Baqaei wrote on his X account on Friday.
“This represents impunity in its most blatant and brutal form — a profound moral aberration.”
On Thursday, the US issued a new round of sanctions against ICC staff members, citing a recent ruling blocking Israel’s effort to halt a Gaza war crimes investigation.
The sanctions target two judges — Gocha Lordkipanidze of Georgia and Erdenebalsuren Damdin of Mongolia.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the two judges “have directly engaged in efforts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute Israeli nationals, without Israel’s consent, including voting with the majority in favor of the ICC’s ruling against Israel’s appeal on December 15.”
The ICC described Washington's move as a "flagrant attack" on the independence of an impartial judicial institution.
In its statement, the ICC warned that threatening judges for upholding the law jeopardizes the entire international legal framework.
The top court emphasized that such measures undermine the rule of law and reaffirmed its support for its personnel and the victims of atrocities.
The US is Israel’s biggest ally and has supported its genocidal war in Gaza by continuing to supply the occupying regime with billions in military and economic aid.
“The ICC has continued to engage in politicized actions targeting Israel, which set a dangerous precedent for all nations,” Rubio said in the statement.
The sanctions are the latest in a series of economic restrictions the administration of US President Donald Trump has placed on ICC members and their associates.
Critics warn such actions could chill investigations across the world and have wide-ranging implications for prosecutors, judges and even witnesses.
In February, for instance, the Trump administration issued broad sanctions targeting ICC staff and anyone assisting the court’s investigations against the US and its allies.
The White House continued by issuing individual sanctions against judges and prosecutors it disagreed with.
In June, four judges were sanctioned, two of whom participated in probes regarding US personnel in Afghanistan. The other two were involved in the decision to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former minister of military affairs Yoav Gallant.
Then, in August, the US expanded the sanctions, taking actions against two more judges and two ICC prosecutors.
Even entities outside the ICC have been hit with economic penalties as a result of their participation in its investigations.