Speaker of the US House of Representatives Mike Johnson has said the US lawmaker will take any action to “punish” the International Criminal Court (ICC) if the organisation authorises an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Congress is considering any options, including imposing sanctions, to punish the ICC and ensure that its leadership faces consequences if they approve it,” said Mike Johnson, as quoted by The Guardian.
According to the House Speaker, allowing the ICC to threaten the Israeli leadership “could be the next White House.” The lawmaker emphasised that the International Criminal Court “has no power over Israel or the US”.
Moreover, the parliamentarian said that the decision of ICC prosecutor Karim Khan to demand arrest warrants for the Prime Minister of Israel and the Israeli head of defence “illegitimate and deserves international condemnation”.
Earlier, Russian Ambassador to the USA Anatoliy Antonov said that Washington denied the legitimacy of the International Criminal Court and used various sanctions pressure when this structure affected the interests of the United States and its allies.