Apr 17, 2026 14:32 pm IST

Analysis | Can Donald Trump Face An 'Arrest Warrant' - Like Netanyahu And Putin?

No one in living memory imagined a moment when the world would seriously debate the possibility of an American president being dragged before a court. Has it come now?

Syed Zubair Ahmed Syed Zubair Ahmed Columnist

Syed Zubair Ahmed Columnist

Many in America and across the world are still trying to shake off the shock of President Donald Trump's warning to Iran last week that "a whole civilisation will die" unless Tehran agreed to a deal to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Some called him "unhinged", others said he was "unfit for office", and a few even argued that such a statement bordered on the language of a war crime.

No one in living memory imagined a moment when the world would seriously debate the possibility of an American president being dragged before the International Criminal Court. George W. Bush came close to such scrutiny, but the conversation never quite crossed into the mainstream the way it has now.

Can ICC laws, created to hold leaders accountable for war crimes, ever be applied to a sitting American president? Trump's remarks, which critics say appear to threaten large-scale destruction of infrastructure and the killing of millions of civilians, drew concern from global figures, including UN chief António Guterres and Pope Francis. Some in the US went even further. Former CIA Director John Brennan warned that Trump's rhetoric made him "unfit for office" and argued that the "25th Amendment was written with Donald Trump in mind".

Many are comparing the situation with arrest warrants issued by the ICC against Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu. Both leaders come from countries that are not members of the ICC. Yet the court still asserted jurisdiction, arguing that the alleged crimes were linked to territories that fall under its authority. The comparison does not suggest Trump faces an imminent warrant. Rather, it raises a pertinent question: if the legal logic applies to other powerful leaders, could it apply to a US president? 

To understand that question, it helps to step back and look at what the ICC actually is. The court was created by the Rome Statute in 2001 to prosecute........

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