WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The Trump administration has prepared sanctions targeting the International Criminal Court as an institution and could announce the measures soon, according to two people familiar with the plans. The action would represent a significant expansion of Washington’s efforts against the Hague-based tribunal, which handles cases involving alleged war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.

The administration has repeatedly opposed the ICC and taken steps aimed at limiting its activities. US officials have sought to persuade the court to withdraw arrest warrants involving Israeli leaders and to end a previous investigation concerning US military personnel in Afghanistan. Earlier American sanctions focused on individual ICC officials rather than the court as a whole.

In July, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced an effort to isolate the ICC and urged countries to leave the institution. Last month, Washington sanctioned ICC President Tomoko Akane and senior trial lawyer Abdoulaye Seye. Those measures freeze assets belonging to the two officials that are located in US jurisdictions or that pass through the American financial system.

“The Trump administration has been clear: the International Criminal Court is a corrupt and fatally politicized supranational court that has maliciously abused its authority and exceeded its mandate,” Rubio said at the time. “We will not tolerate its assault on state sovereignty.”

Seye is part of the ICC prosecution team that secured an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Seye has also been nominated for an election to serve as an ICC judge.

“The ICC has become a kangaroo court that cloaks its abuse of power in the language of international law while undermining the very principles of justice,” Netanyahu wrote on X in response to last month’s US sanctions announcement, praising Rubio’s “determined efforts against the ICC’s illegitimate overreach, and for making clear that the corrupt officials who lead the ICC will face consequences.”

Mame Mandiaye Niang, who is serving as the ICC’s interim chief prosecutor, said earlier this month that he hoped Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin would eventually appear before the court.

Niang assumed leadership of the ICC prosecutor’s office during a major period of upheaval following the removal of his predecessor, Karim Khan, amid sexual abuse allegations.

Karim Khan had previously announced in May 2024 that he was seeking arrest warrants from ICC judges for Netanyahu and Gallant, as well as Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Muhammad Deif and Ismail Haniyeh.

The sources said the sanctions targeting the court have already been prepared, although it was not clear exactly when the administration would announce them. The Wall Street Journal, citing officials, reported that the decision could be finalized as early as this week during the United Nations General Assembly.

Applying sanctions directly to the ICC and potentially to organizations that conduct business with it could significantly affect the tribunal’s operations.

If the US Treasury imposes organization-wide sanctions, American citizens and companies generally would be prohibited from providing the ICC with money, products or services without authorization from the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC. Financial institutions frequently take additional precautions with US sanctions because of their reliance on access to the American banking system.

ICC officials have warned that such restrictions could affect a range of routine activities, including purchasing information-technology services and insurance, employing investigators and carrying out ordinary financial transactions. The measures could also complicate salary payments to dozens of American employees, according to the court’s registrar and president.

Trump’s opposition to the ICC dates to his first presidency. The issue resurfaced with a proposal to sanction ICC officials, an approach developed in November 2024 after Trump won reelection and the court issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu.

The International Criminal Court was created in 2002 by the international community to prosecute individuals accused of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. The court says it exercises jurisdiction when national authorities are unable or unwilling to genuinely prosecute such crimes themselves.

The United States has never joined the ICC. Israel is also not a member and rejects the court’s authority over Israeli citizens and activities. Israel has additionally argued that the ICC lacks jurisdiction over Palestinians because there is no sovereign Palestinian state.