The U.S. government threatened sanctions against the International Criminal Court unless the body vowed not to prosecute President Donald Trump.
Officials in the Trump administration confirmed to Reuters that the International Criminal Court had been told not to investigate the U.S. president.
"Washington may penalize more ICC officials and could sanction the court itself," Reuters reported, noting that the Trump administration was also demanding investigations into U.S. troops' actions in Afghanistan and into Israeli leaders over the war in Gaza be dropped.
The U.S. did not participate in the 2002 Rome Statute establishing the ICC as a court of last resort capable of prosecuting heads of state.
"There is growing concern ... that in 2029 the ICC will turn its attention to the president, to the vice president, to the secretary of war and others, and pursue prosecutions against them," a Trump official told Reuters.
"That is unacceptable, and we will not allow it to happen."
