Trump administration prepares sanctions against International Criminal Court, sources say

The Trump administration has made no secret of its disdain for the court and has worked to undermine it. US officials want the court to drop its arrest warrants against Israeli leaders as well as a past probe into American troops in Afghanistan.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in July announced a campaign to isolate the court, calling on other countries to withdraw from the tribunal. Washington has imposed sanctions on a number of ICC judges and prosecutors but has so far held off from imposing sanctions on the court itself, although the move has long been considered as one of the options.

The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Sanctions against the court have been prepared, the sources said, even though the exact timing of an announcement remained unclear. The Wall Street Journal cited officials who said the decision could be finalized as soon as this week during the United Nations General Assembly meeting.