U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a U.S.-Paraguay Status of Forces agreement signing ceremony at the State Department in Washington, D.C., U.S., December 15, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Mohatt

Rubio says US sanctioning ICC judges for targeting Israel

· The Straits Times

Dec 18 - U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday that the ‍U.S. ​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 United States and Israel are not members of the ICC.

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