٠٠:٠٣:١٥United States Senator Lindsey Graham called for the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to back sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) and 'find a way' cooperating 'to rest displeasure with the ICC' during the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations budget hearing in Washington DC on Wednesday.
"If they do this to Israel, we're next," he claimed. "So, at the end of the day here, what I hope to happen is that we level sanctions against the ICC for this outrage to not only help our friends in Israel but protect ourselves over time."
During a discussion with Blinken, the senator said he "engaged the ICC to engage Israel before they made the final decision."
"I want to take actions, not just words," he said, addressing the Secretary and asking questions. "Will you support a bipartisan effort to sanction the ICC not only for the outrage against Israel but to protect in the future our interest?"
"Answering the question, Blinken express his readiness to work in this direction. "I welcome working with you on that," he responded.
The discussion followed the ICC prosecutor's decision Karim Khan announced on Monday to seek arrest warrants for Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant as well as Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Diab, and Ismail Haniyeh, on charges of 'war crimes.'
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the ICC's 'absurd and false order', labelling the move as 'anti-Semitic' and a 'complete distortion of reality'. The Hamas group also criticised the ICC and accused it of equating victims with aggressors.
A panel of ICC judges will consider the requests. While neither Israel nor the US is a member of the ICC, the decision can make it extremely difficult for those involved to travel to any of the 124 countries that are party to the court, including major allies like the UK and Germany.
During the meeting, the coordinator of the meeting Senator Chris Coons expressed his condolences to the victim of the 'Butcher of Tehran,' regarding the condolences for the deceased Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi made earlier by the US.
"His tenure as president was marked by the brutal repression of women and girls, the enrichment of uranium, a violent crackdown on mass protests in 2022 and direct attacks on Israel from Iranian soil…To the Iranian people, we stand with you and hope and pray for the day of your liberation comes from the Ayatollah and his henchmen," he said.
The address followed the 63-year-old leader, who was reported dead on Monday, alongside his Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and others after their helicopter came down in the mountains in northern Iran's East Azerbaijan province during heavy fog. They were returning from the inauguration of a dam on the border with Azerbaijan.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared five days of national mourning. First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber will take over as acting president interim, with elections scheduled after 50 days. Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani becomes acting foreign minister.
'If they come for Israel, we're next!' - Lawmakers get Blinken to back ICC sanctions, condemn Raisi 'condolences'
United States Senator Lindsey Graham called for the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to back sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) and 'find a way' cooperating 'to rest displeasure with the ICC' during the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations budget hearing in Washington DC on Wednesday.
"If they do this to Israel, we're next," he claimed. "So, at the end of the day here, what I hope to happen is that we level sanctions against the ICC for this outrage to not only help our friends in Israel but protect ourselves over time."
During a discussion with Blinken, the senator said he "engaged the ICC to engage Israel before they made the final decision."
"I want to take actions, not just words," he said, addressing the Secretary and asking questions. "Will you support a bipartisan effort to sanction the ICC not only for the outrage against Israel but to protect in the future our interest?"
"Answering the question, Blinken express his readiness to work in this direction. "I welcome working with you on that," he responded.
The discussion followed the ICC prosecutor's decision Karim Khan announced on Monday to seek arrest warrants for Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant as well as Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Diab, and Ismail Haniyeh, on charges of 'war crimes.'
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the ICC's 'absurd and false order', labelling the move as 'anti-Semitic' and a 'complete distortion of reality'. The Hamas group also criticised the ICC and accused it of equating victims with aggressors.
A panel of ICC judges will consider the requests. While neither Israel nor the US is a member of the ICC, the decision can make it extremely difficult for those involved to travel to any of the 124 countries that are party to the court, including major allies like the UK and Germany.
During the meeting, the coordinator of the meeting Senator Chris Coons expressed his condolences to the victim of the 'Butcher of Tehran,' regarding the condolences for the deceased Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi made earlier by the US.
"His tenure as president was marked by the brutal repression of women and girls, the enrichment of uranium, a violent crackdown on mass protests in 2022 and direct attacks on Israel from Iranian soil…To the Iranian people, we stand with you and hope and pray for the day of your liberation comes from the Ayatollah and his henchmen," he said.
The address followed the 63-year-old leader, who was reported dead on Monday, alongside his Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and others after their helicopter came down in the mountains in northern Iran's East Azerbaijan province during heavy fog. They were returning from the inauguration of a dam on the border with Azerbaijan.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared five days of national mourning. First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber will take over as acting president interim, with elections scheduled after 50 days. Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani becomes acting foreign minister.
United States Senator Lindsey Graham called for the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to back sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) and 'find a way' cooperating 'to rest displeasure with the ICC' during the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations budget hearing in Washington DC on Wednesday.
"If they do this to Israel, we're next," he claimed. "So, at the end of the day here, what I hope to happen is that we level sanctions against the ICC for this outrage to not only help our friends in Israel but protect ourselves over time."
During a discussion with Blinken, the senator said he "engaged the ICC to engage Israel before they made the final decision."
"I want to take actions, not just words," he said, addressing the Secretary and asking questions. "Will you support a bipartisan effort to sanction the ICC not only for the outrage against Israel but to protect in the future our interest?"
"Answering the question, Blinken express his readiness to work in this direction. "I welcome working with you on that," he responded.
The discussion followed the ICC prosecutor's decision Karim Khan announced on Monday to seek arrest warrants for Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant as well as Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Diab, and Ismail Haniyeh, on charges of 'war crimes.'
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the ICC's 'absurd and false order', labelling the move as 'anti-Semitic' and a 'complete distortion of reality'. The Hamas group also criticised the ICC and accused it of equating victims with aggressors.
A panel of ICC judges will consider the requests. While neither Israel nor the US is a member of the ICC, the decision can make it extremely difficult for those involved to travel to any of the 124 countries that are party to the court, including major allies like the UK and Germany.
During the meeting, the coordinator of the meeting Senator Chris Coons expressed his condolences to the victim of the 'Butcher of Tehran,' regarding the condolences for the deceased Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi made earlier by the US.
"His tenure as president was marked by the brutal repression of women and girls, the enrichment of uranium, a violent crackdown on mass protests in 2022 and direct attacks on Israel from Iranian soil…To the Iranian people, we stand with you and hope and pray for the day of your liberation comes from the Ayatollah and his henchmen," he said.
The address followed the 63-year-old leader, who was reported dead on Monday, alongside his Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and others after their helicopter came down in the mountains in northern Iran's East Azerbaijan province during heavy fog. They were returning from the inauguration of a dam on the border with Azerbaijan.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared five days of national mourning. First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber will take over as acting president interim, with elections scheduled after 50 days. Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani becomes acting foreign minister.