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Sunday, October 11, 2026

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Treasury · Sunday, October 11, 2026

U.S. sanctions the International Criminal Court itself

The File desk · Oct 11, 2026, 11:15 AM UTC

Status

Confirmed. The Treasury sanctions list and a general license dated Oct. 9, 2026, and the State Department's statement and fact sheet the same day.

  • Confirmed

    The Office of Foreign Assets Control added the International Criminal Court to its sanctions list on Oct. 9 and issued licenses, including one that runs until April 7, 2027.

  • Confirmed

    The State Department says the United States had previously sanctioned 17 people under the same 2025 order, not the court itself.

The International Criminal Court, the world court in The Hague that tries people for war crimes, does not count the United States as a member. On Friday the Trump administration put the court itself on the Treasury Department's sanctions list. Until now the United States had sanctioned court officials, not the institution. Property of the court that is under U.S. control is frozen, and Americans generally cannot do business with it. Treasury issued four licenses that limit that for now. One lets the court keep operating, and lets member countries keep paying it, until April 7, 2027.

The State Department says the designation rests on section 1(a)(ii)(A) of

, signed Feb. 6, 2025. That section covers foreign persons found to have directly engaged in any effort by the court to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute a protected person without the consent of that person's country. The order is . State's fact sheet says that, before Friday, the United States had imposed sanctions on 17 persons under the same order.

Treasury's sanctions office listed the court this way: International Criminal Court, Oude Waalsdorperweg 10, 2597 AK, The Hague, Netherlands, organization established July 1, 2002. Treasury's press-release list has no release on the designation. The action is on the sanctions office's recent-actions page and in State's statement and fact sheet.

The same day Treasury issued

. General License 13, signed at 8:41 a.m. Eastern on Oct. 9, authorizes transactions ordinarily incident to the maintenance or wind-down of the court's operations through 12:01 a.m. Eastern daylight time on April 7, 2027. Its note lists member countries' payments to the court, salaries, health insurance, rent, and invoices. The other three licenses, by title, cover telecommunications and enterprise software, pension payments, and certain people the court holds. This desk read those titles, not the full text of licenses 14, 15, and 16.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the 180-day license is time for member countries to address U.S. concerns, and that it can be adjusted if those efforts succeed or fail. He also said, "Either the ICC will end its threats, or we will end the ICC." That sentence is his argument. No response from the court, the Netherlands, or member countries was fetched.

What is still unknown or disputed

Primary sources

Every claim in this story is drawn from the documents below. If a fetch failed, that is recorded on the card.

  1. Source 1

    Settlement Agreement between the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control and Pegasus Worldwide Logistics, LLC; International Criminal Court Designation and General Licenses; Burma-related Designation Removal

    U.S. Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control · October 9, 2026

    The following entity has been added to OFAC's SDN List: INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT, Oude Waalsdorperweg 10 2597 AK, The Hague, Netherlands

    https://ofac.treasury.gov/recent-actions/20261009

  2. Source 2

    Imposing Sanctions on the International Criminal Court

    Secretary of State Marco Rubio · October 9, 2026

    That is why, today, the United States is sanctioning the International Criminal Court.

    https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesman/2026/10/imposing-sanctions-on-the-international-criminal-court/

  3. Source 3

    Imposing Sanctions on the International Criminal Court

    State Department, Office of the Spokesman · October 9, 2026

    The 180-day maintenance GL is intended to provide time for States Parties to demonstrate meaningful progress on diplomatic and legal resolutions that address fundamental U.S. concerns regarding the ICC.

    https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesman/2026/10/imposing-sanctions-on-the-international-criminal-court-2/

  4. Source 4

    International Criminal Court-Related General License No. 13

    U.S. Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control · October 9, 2026

    all transactions prohibited by the International Criminal Court-Related Sanctions Regulations (ICCSR), 31 CFR part 528, that are ordinarily incident and necessary to the maintenance or wind down of operations, contracts, or other agreements involving the International Criminal Court are authorized through 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time, April 7, 2027.

    https://ofac.treasury.gov/media/937186/download?inline

  5. Source 5

    Imposing Sanctions on the International Criminal Court

    Federal Register · February 12, 2025

    directly engaged in any effort by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute a protected person without consent of that person's country of nationality

    https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/02/12/2025-02612/imposing-sanctions-on-the-international-criminal-court