US sanctions 4 ICC judges, deputy prosecutors over Netanyahu arrest warrants

The US sanctioned four International Criminal Court (ICC) officials Wednesday, including a judge who authorized the arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) added Nicolas Yann Guillou, Nazhat Shameem Khan, Mame Mandiaye Niang and Kimberly Prost to the Specially Designated Nationals list.

The State Department said Guillou was sanctioned for authorizing arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, while Prost faced penalties for approving investigations into US personnel in Afghanistan.

Guillou, a French jurist, serves on the ICC's Pre-Trial Chamber I that issued the warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant in November 2024. The warrants accuse both officials of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Deputy prosecutors Khan and Niang were designated for "continuing to support illegitimate ICC actions against Israel," including upholding the warrants targeting Israeli leadership since assuming prosecutor office leadership.

The State Department said sanctions were imposed under Executive Order 14203, which targets "malign efforts by the ICC" and aims to impose consequences on those engaged in "transgressions against the United States and Israel."

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused the four officials and the court of efforts to “investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute nationals of the United States or Israel, without the consent of either nation.”

“The United States has been clear and steadfast in our opposition to the ICC’s politicization, abuse of power, disregard for our national sovereignty, and illegitimate judicial overreach,” he said in a statement, labeling the court as national security threat to Washington and Tel Aviv.

All property and interests of sanctioned individuals in the US or controlled by US persons are now blocked. Entities owned 50% or more by blocked persons are also sanctioned.

The OFAC also published a General License authorizing the winding down of existing transactions with sanctioned individuals until 12.01 a.m. EDT (0401GMT) on Sept. 19. But payments must be made into blocked interest-bearing accounts in the US, preventing those who are sanctioned from accessing funds.

The sanctions came amid an escalation between the US and the ICC, which Washington has not joined. In February, the Trump administration sanctioned the ICC and Prosecutor Karim Khan, accusing the court of "illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel."

Israel has killed more than 62,000 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023, devastating the enclave which faces famine. Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.