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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday announced sanctions against two International Criminal Court (ICC) officials, CNN reported. 

The top US diplomat said he was designating ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, and the ICC's Head of Jurisdiction, Complementary, and Cooperation Division Phakiso Mochochoko "for having materially assisted Prosecutor Bensouda."

"Individuals and entities that continue to materially support those individuals risk exposure to sanctions as well," he warned during a press conference at the State Department. "Additionally, the State Department has restricted the issuance of visas for certain individuals involved in the ICC's efforts to investigate US personnel."

The move was swiftly condemned by the international tribunal, human rights organizations and the foreign minister of the Netherlands, where the ICC is based.

"These coercive acts, directed at an international judicial institution and its civil servants, are unprecedented and constitute serious attacks against the Court, the Rome Statute system of international criminal justice, and the rule of law more generally," the ICC said in a statement.