Dear A.,

Sanctions imposed by the Trump administration on International Criminal Court (ICC) officials, following the court's morally bankrupt and legally baseless arrest warrants against Israeli leaders, are having a serious impact, according to new reporting.

As a result of American sanctions, ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan has "lost access to his email, and his bank accounts have been frozen," and both "Khan and other non-Americans among the ICC’s 900 staff members" are banned from entering the United States.

The sanctions also "[threaten] any person, institution or company with fines and prison time if they provide Khan with 'financial, material, or technological support,'" causing many companies and organizations to end their cooperation with the ICC.

AIPAC has lobbied Congress to pass ICC sanctions legislation — the Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act — and applauded the Trump administration for imposing sanctions on ICC officials who target for prosecution Americans and our democratic allies. 

Meanwhile, Khan is also under investigation for allegedly sexually assaulting other ICC staff, and may have sought the arrest warrants against Israel's leaders to shield himself from the accusations. You can read and share The Wall Street Journal's shocking exposé on Khan here.

The Journal reports that the arrest warrants "shored up support for Khan among anti-Israel ICC nations that would likely back Khan if the [sexual assault] allegations [against him] ever became public, according to court officials."

The ICC’s outrageous actions against Israel — the first against the leaders of a democratic country — set a dangerous precedent that the court may again arbitrarily expand its jurisdiction to prosecute Western nations with robust judicial systems like Israel.

The United States must continue to stand with Israel and push back against the illegitimate and baseless effort by the ICC to target our democratic ally.

Trump: U.S. and Iran "getting very close to maybe doing a deal"

Yesterday, President Trump said that U.S. and Iranian negotiators are "getting very close to maybe doing a [nuclear] deal," and that "Iran has sort of agreed to the terms... We’re not going to be making any nuclear dust in Iran."

Earlier this week, Trump said, "I want to make a deal with Iran. I want to do something if possible. But for that to happen, they must stop sponsoring terror, halt its bloody proxy wars and permanently and verifiably cease pursuit of nuclear weapons."

These comments highlight the importance of yesterday's letter to Trump from 52 Republicans Senators and 177 Republican House members. As the members wrote, "We write to... reinforce the explicit warnings that you and officials in your administration have issued that the regime must permanently give up any capacity for enrichment."

According to a new report in Axios, the United States presented Iran with a written proposal for a nuclear deal during negotiations last weekend, which, if true, would be the first time the U.S. put forward a written proposal since negotiations began.

The United States must continue to impose maximum pressure on the Iranian regime coupled with a credible threat of military force to facilitate time-bound negotiations to verifiably and permanently dismantle Iran’s nuclear program.

Pregnant Israeli woman murdered by Palestinian terrorist

Tzeela Gez, a 30-year-old pregnant Israeli woman on her way to the hospital with her husband to deliver her baby last night, was shot by a Palestinian terrorist, and died today from her wounds.

Tzeela was rushed from the scene of the attack to a medical center in critical condition. While trying to save her life, doctors performed an emergency C-section to deliver her baby. The newborn was listed in serious condition.

Tzeela was a mother of three and nine months pregnant, and is survived by her husband and children.

Hamas' spokesperson praised the attack as "heroic."

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said following the attack, "This is a difficult and painful attack in which an Israeli civilian was killed on her way to a delivery room. I share in the deep sorrow of the family. We are engaged in broad fighting against terror in Judea and Samaria (West Bank), and we will continue."

Prime Minister Netanyahu said, "This abhorrent incident precisely reflects the difference between us, who desire and bring life, and the reprehensible terrorists, whose goal is to kill us and destroy life."

Israel intercepts another Houthi missile

Israel today intercepted a ballistic missile launched by the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists in Yemen.

This was the fourth Houthi attack against Israel in two days.

Since mid-March, the Houthis have launched 34 ballistic missiles and at least 10 drones at Israel.

A large piece of debris from the intercepted Houthi ballistic missile landed near an Israeli community.

Treasury sanctions Hezbollah, Israeli strike in Lebanon

The Treasury Department today sanctioned two Hezbollah officials and two financial facilitators for working "closely with [Hezbollah] leadership to send money to the group from overseas donors. These donations are a significant portion of the terrorist group’s overall budget," the statement read. 

"As part of our ongoing efforts to address Iran’s support for terrorism, Treasury will continue to intensify economic pressure on the key individuals in the Iranian regime and its proxies who enable these deadly activities," Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender said.

Meanwhile, the IDF today in a drone strike in southern Lebanon killed a Hezbollah operative who was working to help rebuild Hezbollah's terror infrastructure.

Secretary Rubio speaks with Netanyahu

"The Secretary stressed the deep U.S. commitment to its historic relationship with Israel and the ironclad U.S. support for Israeli security," according to a U.S. readout following Secretary of State Marco Rubio's phone call today with Prime Minister Netanyahu.

"The Secretary and Prime Minister discussed Syria following President Trump’s historic meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia. The Secretary and Prime Minister also shared their mutual commitment to make sure Iran never possesses a nuclear weapon," the readout added.

Continue to follow AIPAC on social media for the latest updates.

Jake Braunstein
Director of Policy Communications