Iran condemns US sanctions on ICC officials

Tehran, Aug 22 (IANS) Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei condemned the US imposition of sanctions on four more officials of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

He made the remarks on the social media platform X one day after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the sanctions against ICC Judges Kimberly Prost of Canada and Nicolas Guillou of France, along with Deputy Prosecutors Nazhat Shameem Khan of Fiji and Mame Mandiaye Niang of Senegal, Xinhua news agency reported.

Baghaei said the US imposition of sanctions on the ICC members "for addressing Israel's atrocity crimes is not only an unprecedented assault on justice, but a blatant complicity in war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Palestine."

He added that the "assault" on the ICC officials epitomised a "gross abuse of power -- granting Israel absolute impunity, licensing further atrocities, and gravely imperiling international peace and security."

The sanctions follow ICC decisions last year to issue arrest warrants for two senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as the court's ongoing investigation into alleged US war crimes in Afghanistan. The United States had imposed similar restrictions on the ICC's chief prosecutor, Karim Khan KC, and four other judges, earlier this year.

The United States and Israel are not parties to the Rome Statute and do not hold membership in the ICC.

--IANS

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