The Trump administration on Wednesday imposed sanctions on four additional officials of the International Criminal Court, escalating its campaign against the Hague-based tribunal. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the court poses “a national security threat” and accused it of conducting “lawfare” against the United States and its ally Israel. The designations target two judges—Kimberly Prost of Canada and Nicolas Yann Guillou of France—and deputy prosecutors Nazhat Shameem Khan of Fiji and Mame Mandiaye Niang of Senegal. According to the State Department, Prost authorized an investigation of U.S. personnel in Afghanistan, while Guillou presided over the panel that approved arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant. Khan and Niang were cited for continuing to support the warrants. The sanctions freeze any U.S. assets the officials hold and bar Americans from doing business with them. The ICC called the measures “a flagrant attack” on its independence, and France and the United Nations urged Washington to withdraw the penalties, warning they undermine international justice. Netanyahu, by contrast, praised the move as a “firm measure” against what he described as a smear campaign targeting Israel. Wednesday’s action follows a similar round of sanctions in June and stems from a February executive order that authorises penalties against ICC personnel involved in cases against Americans or Israelis. Neither the United States nor Israel recognises the court’s jurisdiction, while 125 countries are party to its statute.