Trump Sanctions ICC, Iran; Says Israel Will 'Turn Over' Gaza To US (X image @EmekaGift100)

Washington DC, US: Donald Trump has imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court and doubled down on his Gaza plan. He said Gaza will be “turned over” to the US by Israel after the war. He also imposed sanctions on Iran, the first ever since his coming back to the White House. The sanction against ICC places financial and visa restrictions on individuals and their families who assist in ICC investigations of American citizens or allies.

The Republican signed an executive order sanctioning ICC, accusing it of “illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel.” He signed the sanction as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was visiting the US. The ICC issued arrest warrants against Netanyahu and former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for committing war crimes in Gaza. The court also issued arrest warrants against Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar and Muhammed Deif, both of whom were killed in the war. Israel killed more than 61,000 Palestinians in its indiscriminate bombing campaign in Gaza, which lasted for 15 months.

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A White House fact sheet accused the Hague-based ICC of creating a “shameful moral equivalency” between Hamas and Israel by issuing the warrants at the same time.

According to Trump’s executive order, ICC “set a dangerous precedent” that endangered Americans by exposing them to “harassment, abuse, and possible arrest.”

“This malign conduct in turn threatens to infringe upon the sovereignty of the United States and undermines the critical national security and foreign policy work of the United States government and our allies, including Israel,” said the order.

Trump imposed sanctions on ICC during his first term also. He sanctioned the apex court officials who were investigating whether US forces had committed war crimes in Afghanistan. The sanctions were lifted during former President Joe Biden’s administration.

Washington is not a member of the ICC and has repeatedly rejected any jurisdiction by the body over American officials or citizens.

‘Turning over’ of Gaza:

After his bizarre comment of the US “taking over” Gaza, which was made during a joint press conference with Netanyahu, Trump now changed his words. Earlier, his words suggested that the nearly 2 million Palestinian population will be resettled—Egypt and Jordan were asked to take them, which the countries denied—and Gaza will be turned into a “Riviera of the Middle East.”

After strong condemnation for his words from the Arab leaders and the United Nations, the Republican restated his words on his social media platform, Truth Social. He said, “The Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting.” The said war between Hamas and Israel is currently under ceasefire, and negotiations on the second phase are going on in Qatar.

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Trump held on to the plan of resettling the Palestinians and said that no American troops would be deployed in the region. The US president did not make it clear if the Palestinians would be able to return to Gaza or not. White House press secretary Karine Leavitt said on Wednesday any displacement would be temporary. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Gazans would leave for an “interim” period while reconstruction took place.

“They would actually have a chance to be happy, safe, and free. The US, working with great development teams from all over the world, would slowly and carefully begin the construction of what would become one of the greatest and most spectacular developments of its kind on Earth… No soldiers by the US would be needed! Stability for the region would reign!!!” said Trump.

Trump’s outrageous comment of ‘owning’ Gaza was met with huge backlashes. The UN warned that “any forced displacement of people would be tantamount to ethnic cleansing.” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday that “the exercise of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people is about the right of Palestinians to simply live as human beings in their own land.”

Hamas, the governing body of Gaza, rejected the idea, along with countries like Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Türkiye, China, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Spain.

“Gaza is the Gaza of Palestinians, an integral part of the Palestinian territory, not a political bargaining chip, let alone the target of a law of the jungle,” Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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Gazans also strongly rejected the idea. Speaking to Al Jazeera, Fathi Abu al-Saeed, a 72-year-old resident of Khan Younis, said he would remain right by his demolished home.

“You see that pile of useless rubble? That’s more precious than the United States and everything in it,” he told the outlet.

Sanctions on Iran:

Trump imposed the first batch of sanctions against Iran as he pushes to reimpose “maximum pressure” on Tehran. The US said the sanctions are aimed at Tehran’s “oil network.” The sanction targeted firms, ships, and individuals affiliated with companies already sanctioned by the US.

“The Iranian regime remains focused on leveraging its oil revenues to fund the development of its nuclear program, to produce its deadly ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles, and to support its regional terrorist proxy groups,” US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said in a statement. He said Washington is “committed to aggressively targeting any attempt by Iran to secure funding for these malign activities.”

The statement said the sanctions include “entities and individuals in multiple jurisdictions,” including China, India, and the United Arab Emirates.

The move came two days after Trump signed an executive order to revive his pressure campaign against Iran, which was started during his first term after hitting an international deal with Tehran in 2018. The agreement, which is formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was struck in 2015. It would have seen Tehran measuring back its nuclear program in exchange for lifting international sanctions against its economy.

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While former President Joe Biden tried to restore the deal, multiple rounds of indirect talks with Iran failed to achieve his goal. The outbreak of bloody war between Israel and Hamas in October 2023 further derailed the talk. Ultimately, the Biden administration kept the sanctions and imposed penalties against Iran.

However, the Republicans accused Biden of failing to rigorously enforce the sanctions and halt Iranian oil sales, especially to China. The new executive order from Trump directs US officials to review and tighten the sanctions to “drive Iran’s export of oil to zero.”

At the same time, while imposing the “maximum pressure” on Iran, Trump also keeps the door open for diplomacy. He said that he is willing to reach out to Iranian officials. “I want Iran to be a great and successful country, but one that cannot have a nuclear weapon,” he told reporters.

While Iran has denied seeking nuclear weapons, as a response to US sanctions, Tehran has been increasingly enriching uranium, the main material needed to produce a bomb, for years.

The US State Department claims that Tehran’s oil exports are “illicit,” which is far departed from true, as Iran, a sovereign country, is selling its own oil. “Proceeds of these sales support terrorist and proxy groups,” the State Department said.