TEHRAN, Dec. 19– Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei on Friday condemned Washington’s imposition of sanctions on two more officials of the International Criminal Court (ICC) over their “direct engagement” in the ICC’s ongoing probe against Israel.
He made the remarks on the social media platform X one day after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the sanctions against ICC Judges Gocha Lordkipanidze of Georgia and Erdenebalsuren Damdin of Mongolia.
Baghaei said Washington “intensifies pressure and imposes sanctions” on those seeking to hold the “wanted” “genocidal war criminals” accountable, which represents “impunity in its most blatant and brutal form — a profound moral aberration.”
The ICC strongly rejected the new U.S. sanctions on Thursday. Washington has previously sanctioned nine ICC officials, according to the court.
These sanctions followed the Hague-based court’s decisions last year to issue arrest warrants for two senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, over alleged crimes against humanity in Gaza, as well as the ICC’s ongoing investigation into alleged U.S. war crimes in Afghanistan.
On Monday, the ICC rejected Israel’s bid to block the ongoing probe into alleged crimes in Gaza. The ICC was established under the Rome Statute to prosecute genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. The United States and Israel are not parties to the treaty. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
