U.S. President Donald Trump’s beef with the U.N.-backed court stretches back to his first term in office. During the first Trump presidency, the ICC launched an investigation into alleged war crimes committed by U.S. troops and intelligence officers in Afghanistan—infuriating Trump and sparking an initial round of U.S. sanctions.

Attacks or threats against the Court, elected officials, personnel and those cooperating with the Court are not acceptable,' bloc's foreign policy chief says