U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday, imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) in response to its investigations into the United States and its allies, including Israel.

A White House official confirmed that the order introduces financial and visa restrictions on individuals and their families who assist ICC probes into U.S. citizens or allied nations.

The move comes after Senate Republicans attempted—but failed—to pass legislation last week aimed at sanctioning the ICC. That effort was blocked by Senate Democrats in protest of the court’s recent arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over Israel’s military actions in Gaza.

Netanyahu, currently in Washington for diplomatic meetings, has strongly condemned the ICC’s actions.

The ICC has not yet formally responded to the U.S. sanctions. However, sources revealed that the court had been anticipating financial restrictions, prompting it to pay staff salaries three months in advance to ensure continued operations.

In December, ICC President Judge Tomoko Akane warned that such sanctions would “rapidly undermine the Court’s operations in all situations and cases, and jeopardize its very existence.”

This is not the first time the Trump administration has targeted the ICC. In 2020, during Trump’s first term, Washington imposed similar sanctions on then-ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and her aides over the court’s investigation into alleged U.S. war crimes in Afghanistan.

The ICC, with 125 member states, serves as a permanent tribunal prosecuting war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and acts of aggression. However, major global powers—including the United States, China, Russia, and Israel—are not members.

Russia has also clashed with the ICC. In 2023, the court issued an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of illegally deporting hundreds of Ukrainian children. In response, Moscow banned ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan from entering Russia and placed him, along with two ICC judges, on its wanted list.

With Trump’s latest sanctions, tensions between the U.S. and the ICC are set to escalate further, raising questions about the court’s authority and its ability to enforce future investigations into global conflicts.