Eleven high-ranking officials from the International Criminal Court (ICC), comprising eight judges and three prosecutors, are now under US sanctions. This issue arose during the Trump administration's pushback against an investigation launched in 2020 concerning allegations that American military personnel and CIA operatives committed war crimes in Afghanistan. Despite the ICC prosecutor putting the US segment of the case on hold in 2021, the pressure from the US government regarding this investigation has remained a contentious subject.

The US sanctions against these ICC officials were first implemented in early 2022, with subsequent measures taken in June and again on December 18. The primary target of these sanctions, interestingly, is not solely focused on the accusations stemming from Afghanistan but is closely tied to the situation in Israel. Former President Trump is purportedly seeking to influence the court to invalidate arrest warrants issued against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who are accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity connected to the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

In a 2022 executive order, Trump cast the ICC as an illegitimate entity, thereby suggesting that the sanctions were aimed at undermining any legal action against individuals seen as pivotal in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This move indicates a shift in the US stance toward international legal bodies and raises significant questions about the future of international justice, particularly concerning investigations involving US actions abroad and their implications for global diplomatic relations.