ByREUTERS
Updated:

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday that the US was sanctioning two judges of the International Criminal Court for targeting Israel.

"Today, I am designating two International Criminal Court (ICC) judges, Gocha Lordkipanidze of Georgia and Erdenebalsuren Damdin of Mongolia, pursuant to Executive Order 14203," Rubio said in a statement, referring to the order President Donald Trump signed in February sanctioning the ICC.

"These individuals have directly engaged in efforts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute Israeli nationals, without Israel's consent," he said.

The ICC responded that the sanctions were a "flagrant attack" on the court’s independence.

"Such measures targeting judges and prosecutors who were elected by the States Parties undermine the rule of law. When judicial actors are threatened for applying the law, it is the international legal order itself that is placed at risk," the court said.

THE INTERNATIONAL Criminal Court building in The Hague: The ICC has no viable plan to bring to justice the Hamas leaders who conceived the mega-atrocity in Israel, or the terrorist organization’s supporters who slaughtered 1,200 civilians and seized 251 people as hostages on October 7, 2023
THE INTERNATIONAL Criminal Court building in The Hague: The ICC has no viable plan to bring to justice the Hamas leaders who conceived the mega-atrocity in Israel, or the terrorist organization’s supporters who slaughtered 1,200 civilians and seized 251 people as hostages on October 7, 2023 (credit: PIROSCHKA VAN DE WOUW/REUTERS)

The United States and Israel are not members of the ICC.

The US sanctions in February include freezing any US assets of those designated and barring them and their families from visiting the United States.

Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel condemned the sanctions, saying: "International courts and tribunals must be able to carry out their mandates unhindered."

Van Weel also said on X/Twitter that the Netherlands, where the ICC is based, continues to support the court and its staff.

US imposes sanctions on vessels linked to Iran

Additionally, the US imposed sanctions on Thursday on 29 vessels and their management firms, the Treasury Department said, as Washington continues targeting Tehran's "shadow fleet," it says exports Iranian petroleum and petroleum products.

The targeted vessels and companies have transported hundreds of millions of dollars of the products through deceptive shipping practices, Treasury said.

Thursday's action also targets Egyptian businessman Hatem Elsaid Farid Ibrahim Sakr, whose companies are associated with seven of the vessels cited, as well as multiple shipping companies.