The State Department announced sanctions against four ICC officials over their actions against Americans and Israelis. The ICC denounced the sanctions as an attack on the court's independence.

The Trump administration announced fresh sanctions on International Criminal Court officials on Wednesday and accused the ICC of being a "national security threat" and "instrument for lawfare" against the U.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has sanctioned four more members of the International Criminal Court for violating the sovereignty of non-member states.

International Criminal Court chiefs on Thursday hit out at an American government decision to impose sanctions on four more of its top staff, including a French and a Canadian judge over their involvement in cases against Israeli politicians and US military operations in Afghanistan.

The U.S. decision extends previous sanctions on ICC judges and prosecutors. According to the ICC, the sanctions are "a flagrant attack against the independence of an impartial judicial institution which operates under the mandate from 125 States Parties from all regions."

The sanctions now mark a dramatic escalation in Washington’s standoff with the world’s war crimes court, targeting judges and prosecutors who dared to greenlight cases against U.S. troops and Israeli leaders.