WASHINGTON, Feb 7: US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday placing sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) for "baseless" investigations targeting the United States and Israel, the White House said.
The order states that the ICC had "abused its power" by issuing an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who held talks with Trump at the White House on Tuesday, German media outlet Deutsche Welle (DW) reported.
The arrest warrant stems from Netanyahu's actions toward Palestinians in Gaza after the Hamas attack against Israel in October 2023. Hamas is classified as a terrorist organization by the US, Israel, and others.
The ICC's actions set a "dangerous precedent," according to the order. Among the sanctions is the banning of ICC officials from entering the United States.
Israel is a "close ally" of Washington's, the order states, adding that the ICC had used "illegitimate and baseless actions" before issuing the arrest warrant for Netanyahu, reported DW
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Neither the US nor Israel is a member of or recognizes the Hague-based court.
Meanwhile, Qatar-based media, Al Jazeera, said that the United States has imposed the first batch of sanctions against Iran since Donald Trump’s return to the White House, as the president pushes to reimpose “maximum pressure” on Tehran.
The US Treasury announced the sanctions on Thursday, saying that they are aimed at Iran’s “oil network.”.
The measures targeted firms, ships, and individuals affiliated with companies already sanctioned by the US. Under former President Joe Biden, the US routinely issued such penalties to enforce existing sanctions, Al Jazeera added.
“The Iranian regime remains focused on leveraging its oil revenues to fund the development of its nuclear program, to produce its deadly ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles, and to support its regional terrorist proxy groups,” Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said in a statement.
“The United States is committed to aggressively targeting any attempt by Iran to secure funding for these malign activities.”
Iran has long rejected sanctions against its oil sector and efforts to confiscate its exports as “piracy.”.
The Treasury said the sanctions include “entities and individuals in multiple jurisdictions,” including China, India, and the United Arab Emirates.
Thursday’s action comes two days after Trump signed an executive order to revive his pressure campaign against Iran, which he started during his first term after nixing an international deal with Tehran in 2018.
That multilateral agreement, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was struck in 2015. It would have seen Iran scale back its nuclear program in exchange for lifting international sanctions against its economy, reported Al Jazeera.
