The administration of US President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday, escalating tensions with the international judicial body and potentially straining relations with European allies.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the measures aim to prevent the ICC from prosecuting American citizens and restrict the court’s resources and operations.

Washington has criticised the ICC over arrest warrants issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials, as well as its past investigation into alleged crimes by US personnel in Afghanistan.

The ICC condemned the sanctions as an “assault on the rule of law” and vowed to continue its investigations and prosecutions. It also urged its 125 member states to defend the court’s independence.

The announcement came hours after former ICC judge Navi Pillay was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, with the Nobel committee highlighting the importance of international justice amid political pressure on legal institutions.

The sanctions threaten to deepen the dispute between Washington and the ICC, raising concerns about international judicial cooperation and the court’s ability to carry out its work.

South African jurist Navi Pillay, a former judge at the International Criminal Court (ICC), won the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for her efforts to promote peace and international law, as international justice institutions face growing political pressure.

The Nobel Committee announced the award hours before the United States imposed sanctions on the ICC, saying the recognition highlighted the importance of preserving an international order based on law and justice.

Pillay, 85, has served as a judge on several international courts, including the ICC and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. She also chaired a United Nations Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which concluded last year that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza. Israel rejected the report as “scandalous.”

The Nobel Committee warned that international law and its institutions were under significant pressure, cautioning that a shift towards power politics at the expense of legal frameworks threatened stability and peaceful coexistence.

The award comes amid escalating tensions between Washington and the ICC. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticised the court, particularly over its arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister.

Netanyahu’s office condemned the Nobel decision, accusing the committee of awarding its highest honour to someone it said had promoted allegations against Israel.

The award and the US sanctions have renewed international debate over the role of legal institutions in addressing alleged war crimes and protecting accountability under international law.

US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared ​Kushner will meet Ukrainian representatives on Friday in Miami to discuss new ‌ideas and try to produce a unified proposal for resolving the war in Ukraine, an American source familiar with the plan said on Thursday.

Earlier on Thursday, US Secretary of State ​Marco Rubio said the conflict was at a dangerous stalemate. President Donald ​Trump this week said he planned to talk to Russian ⁠President Vladimir Putin by phone soon, Reuters reported.

Trump, whose efforts to resolve the conflict ​have so far not succeeded, has been trying to arrange trilateral talks ​between Russia, the US and Ukraine.

The source said Witkoff and Kushner would hold a working session with the Ukrainians to discuss “new ideas and proposals that American negotiators began developing ​with the Russians and Ukrainians during their recent visit to the ​region”.

The meeting will include representatives from the White House National Security Council and US Treasury ‌Department, ⁠the source said. Ukraine’s chief of staff Kyrylo Budanov, intelligence chief Rustem Umerov, and top negotiator David Arakhamia will represent Kyiv.

The American negotiators also invited national security advisors from the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, as well ​as officials from NATO ​and the ⁠European Union, read the report.

They are expected to discuss proposals for security guarantees for Ukraine, a post-war prosperity plan, and other aspects ​of the conflict, the source said.

The source said the ​Europeans had ⁠told the United States of their frustration with high energy costs and other major financial impacts of the conflict.

“It will be a tough winter if ⁠the ​war does not stop. So, the United States ​is trying to mediate with the sides with the goal of creating a unified proposal,” ​the source said.