The administration of US President Donald Trump has imposed sweeping sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC), intensifying Washington’s campaign against the tribunal over its investigations into crimes involving the United States and its allies, particularly Israel.

The sanctions were announced hours after South African jurist Navi Pillay, a former ICC judge known for her work on human rights and the Israeli genocide in Gaza, won the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the measures in a video posted on social media, saying Washington would prohibit transactions with the court in a bid to cut off its resources and cripple its operations.

“We will ban transactions with this rogue court, cutting off their resources and crippling their ability to operate against us. Because our message is clear: the United States and the American people are not subject to the jurisdiction of this fake ICC,” Rubio said in a video posted on X. “Either the ICC will end its threats, or we will end the ICC."

He urged US allies to support Washington's campaign, warning that the Trump administration would dismantle the court "brick by brick, until Americans are threatened no longer."

The sanctions would restrict the ICC’s access to US-based financial services, technology companies and US dollars. US companies and individuals doing business with the court would have six months to wind down their activities, a move that could severely disrupt the tribunal’s operations.

In a statement on Friday, the ICC condemned the US sanctions against the judicial body, describing them as an attempt to obstruct justice and undermine the international legal order, while pledging to continue its work independently and impartially.

The court said the measures targeted an independent judicial institution mandated by 125 UN member states to investigate and prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression. It warned that the sanctions could disrupt its operations and intimidate those working for or cooperating with the court.

ICC President Tomoko Akane said the court would continue its work independently and impartially, based on the law and evidence, and appealed to member states to defend the institution.

Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan also denounced the US measures, saying they undermined international law and the work of an independent judicial body. She stressed that the court's investigations and prosecutions would continue.

International rights groups described the US sanctions as an existential attack and urged governments to take concrete action to protect the tribunal.

The ICC noted that the latest measures followed Washington’s sanctions against 13 of its judges and prosecutors.

Established in 2002 to prosecute genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, the ICC has faced repeated attacks from the Trump administration over its arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials, including prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and its investigation into crimes committed by US personnel during the decades-long war in Afghanistan.

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International investigators have sought access to a database of possible war crimes committed by US personnel during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

ICC prosecutors had been set to investigate acts of torture committed under the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) torture program in Afghanistan and at secret detention sites in other ICC member states, including Romania, Lithuania and Poland. The court has deprioritized its investigation into US conduct since 2021.

The sanctions underscore growing tensions between Washington and international institutions seeking accountability for grave crimes, threatening to further strain relations between the United States and some of its European allies.

The European Union described US sanctions against the ICC as "deeply regrettable" and said it was "ready to take any necessary measures to enable the court to carry out its work."