President Donald Trump has called the International Criminal Court an “evil group of people” and has called on all of its members to resign.
Addressing the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York Tuesday, the commander-in-chief called the court a “rogue institution” and claimed it was “out of control”.
Trump’s administration has been vocal about its disdain for the court, which prosecutes war crimes and genocide worldwide, announcing sanctions against the body in February last year.
“I call on all nations that are members of the ICC to officially resign from this rogue institution immediately,” Trump said in front of the assembly of world leaders.
“We will never allow U.S. service members or anyone else to be investigated or given show trials by an anti-American tribunal with no jurisdiction over us.”
Trump’s outburst follows reports his administration is preparing new sanctions against the ICC after the global tribunal issued an arrest warrant for his ally, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
American officials told the Wall Street Journal last week that fresh moves to sanction the court could be finalised shortly after the General Assembly, which Netanyahu is set to attend later this week.
The ICC charged Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, in November 2024 with committing war crimes against Palestinians in Gaza following the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel. The U.S. is not a member of the ICC and is not obligated to enforce the warrant.
It accused Netanyahu of being “responsible for the war crimes of starvation as a method of warfare and of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population” in Gaza.
The Israeli leader is also accused of “crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024.” Netanyahu denies the claims and has called them “antisemitic”.
During his UN address, Trump doubled down on his decision to join Israel in the war with Iran, while also claiming he would strike a peace deal after the November midterm elections.
“I have a big decision to make,” the president said. “Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before?
“Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again?”
The Iranian delegation walked out of the assembly after Trump made his latest threats.
The president was speaking less than a week after a UN fact-finding mission said it had reasonable grounds to believe U.S. forces committed war crimes in two strikes on Iran, including one that hit a primary school in the southern city of Minab.