WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s administration has prepared sanctions against the entire International Criminal Court and plans to announce them soon, two sources familiar with the matter said on Sunday, a move that would step up its attack on the global tribunal that prosecutes war crimes and genocide worldwide.

The Trump administration has made no secret of its disdain for the court and has worked to undermine it. US officials want the court to drop its arrest warrants against Israeli leaders as well as a past probe into American troops in Afghanistan.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in July announced a campaign to isolate the court, calling on other countries to withdraw from the tribunal. Washington has imposed sanctions on a number of ICC judges and prosecutors but has so far held off from imposing sanctions on the court itself, although the move has long been considered as one of the options. The State Department did not respond to a request for comment.

Sanctions against the court have been prepared, the sources said, even though the exact timing of an announcement remained unclear.

Published in Dawn, September 22nd, 2026