The international body is presently mulling prosecuting US servicemen over alleged prisoner abuse in Afghanistan.

Reacting to this, US National Security Adviser John Bolton has called the move illegitimate.

"We will not co-operate with the ICC. We will provide no assistance to the ICC. We will not join the ICC. We will let the ICC die on its own. After all, for all intents and purposes, the ICC is already dead to us," Bolton said.

He said that the country would do anything to protect its citizens.

Bolton accused the ICC of being superfluous. Image: John Bolton/Twitter

Lauching a tirade against the ICC, Bolton said that it a threat against American sovereignty and US national security, adding that it lacked balances and claimed jurisdiction over crimes that have disputed and ambiguous definitions.

Calling the international body superfluous, the US Security Adviser said that the country does not recognise anything higher than its  own constitution.

The US was also angry over the ICC's move to try Israel based on complaints of human rights abuses in Gaza by Palestine.

Israel has already dismissed it by calling it a politicised move.

What are the US threats?

The United States has said that it would bar ICC judges and prosecutors from entering the country. Other actions include sanctioning funds belonging to ICC personnel.

The ICC response

Responding to the US threats, the international body said in a statement: "The ICC, as a judicial institution, acts strictly within the legal framework of the Rome Statute and is committed to the independent and impartial exercise of its mandate."

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