File Photo: ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan in Baghdad. AFP
The US Treasury Department said in a statement that it had imposed sanctions against Karim Khan in response to President Donald Trump's February 6 executive order, which called for him to be sanctioned.
Khan, who is a British national, was responsible for the request that led the ICC to issue arrest warrants late last year for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister Yoav Gallant.
The court said it had found "reasonable grounds" to believe Netanyahu and Gallant bore "criminal responsibility" for the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare during Israel's war on Gaza, as well as the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.
Alongside its probe into Israel, the ICC has also been investigating potential war crimes and crimes against humanity carried out during the US invasion and occupation of Afghanistan between 2001 and 2021.
In his executive order, Trump imposed asset freezes and travel bans on ICC officials, employees, and their family members, accusing the court of targeting the two allies.
The United States and Israel are not parties to the Rome Statute or members of the ICC.
The ICC condemned Trump's executive order, which it said sought to "harm its independent and impartial judicial work."
"The Court stands firmly by its personnel and pledges to continue providing justice and hope to millions of innocent victims of atrocities across the world," the court said in a statement.
"We call on our 125 States Parties, civil society and all nations of the world to stand united for justice and fundamental human rights," it said.
On Friday, the EU warned that sanctions on the ICC threatened its independence and the wider judicial system, while the UN urged Trump to reverse his decision to slap sanctions on the court.
This is not the first time Trump has targeted ICC officials: During his first term, he imposed financial sanctions and a visa ban on the ICC's then-prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, and other senior officials.
Joe Biden lifted those sanctions soon after he became president in 2021.
*This story was edited by Ahram Online.
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