Iran Press/ America: US President Joe Biden on Friday lifted sanctions and visa restrictions on officials of the International Criminal Court, reversing another foreign policy move by former President Donald Trump.
According to Politico, the Biden administration move will please many of America’s allies in Europe, a group Biden is determined to reconnect with in the wake of souring relations under Trump.
Still, the Biden administration, like other Republican and Democratic administrations in the past, remains wary of the ICC, whose jurisdiction the United States does not recognize.
“We continue to disagree strongly with the ICC's actions relating to the Afghanistan and Palestinian situations,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that announced an end to the sanctions.
The Trump administration in September 2020 imposed economic sanctions on top ICC officials, including Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda. The sanctions froze any U.S. assets Bensouda may have had.
Earlier in 2020, Trump authorized the use of such sanctions against the ICC, and also declared the situation a national emergency, calling the court a threat to the US.
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