The administration of US President Donald Trump has intensified its long-standing dispute with the International Criminal Court (ICC), issuing a series of demands and warning of severe new sanctions if the court refuses to comply.
At the centre of the standoff is an unprecedented request: that the ICC amend its founding treaty, the Rome Statute, to ensure the court can never investigate or prosecute President Donald Trump or any senior US officials.
A Trump administration official confirmed that this ultimatum is part of a wider set of conditions delivered to ICC member states — including close US allies — and to the court’s leadership.
Washington has made it clear that ignoring these demands will result in additional ICC officials being penalized and could escalate to sanctions against the entire court, significantly intensifying the US campaign against the institution.
The US argument is rooted in a long-standing bipartisan belief that the ICC threatens American sovereignty, especially since the US is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, which established the court in 2002 as a global tribunal empowered to prosecute heads of state.
Beyond seeking immunity for the President and his team, the official outlined two additional demands tied to the sanctions threat: the ICC must end its investigations into Israeli leaders over the Gaza conflict and formally close its earlier probe into the conduct of US troops in Afghanistan.
These demands target some of the ICC’s most high-profile cases. In November, ICC judges issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former defence chief Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Ibrahim al-Masri over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity linked to the Gaza conflict.
The court also opened an investigation into events in Afghanistan in March 2020, which included potential crimes involving US personnel. Although the ICC scaled back its focus on US actions in 2021, the Trump administration now insists the inquiry must be formally shut down.
The threat to sanction the court represents a significant escalation, as Washington seeks to use its diplomatic and economic influence to drive changes in the international justice system and secure protections for American and allied leaders
