US imposes sanctions on ICC President Akane
The USA have imposed sanctions against the President of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Tomoko Akane. The tribunal is a “corrupt and fatally politicized supranational court that has maliciously abused its powers and exceeded its mandate,” said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday. Washington also imposed further sanctions on ICC prosecutor Abdoulaye Seye. “These people have been directly involved in ICC efforts to investigate, arrest, detain or prosecute officials despite their governments not consenting to ICC jurisdiction,” Rubio continued.
The ICC said the US decision “undermines the rule of law”. “When judicial representatives are threatened for applying the law, the international legal order itself is at risk,” the Court added. The ICC was founded in 2002 and prosecutes suspects accused of the most serious atrocities. The USA signed the founding treaty, but never ratified it. Most recently, they imposed numerous sanctions on members of the court, especially since its investigations against Israel direct. In 2024, the court issued an arrest warrant against the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu for possible war crimes.
In July, the US intensified its campaign against the court and called on other countries to withdraw from the institution. Dem were Venezuela and Chad followed. Last week, four human rights organizations sued US President Donald Trump in a New York court over sanctions against the ICC. They argue that the punitive measures prevent victims of war crimes from getting justice.
Trump shows map – with Strait of Hormuz as US territory
US President Donald Trump published a map on Truth Social showing the Strait of Hormuz is referred to as the “New US Territory”. Trump thus reiterated his announcement on Friday that he wanted to declare the strategically important strait to be US territory. At the same time, he stated that there were currently no discussions with him Iran and such are not planned either. “The naval blockade remains in full force and effect,” Trump wrote. The Strait of Hormuz, on the other hand, is “open and operational” and all sea mines have been removed or detonated.
