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Trump calls International Criminal Court ‘evil’ and demands members resign immediately

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Butt, M. (2026, September 22). Trump calls International Criminal Court ‘evil’ and demands members resign immediately. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-icc-un-general-assembly-new-york-b3054421.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

The Independent · collected 2026-09-22 · by Maira Butt

Quick Summary

President Donald Trump addressed the 81st United Nations General Assembly by calling the International Criminal Court an “evil group” and urging all member nations to resign immediately. He accused the court of being out of control and threatened new sanctions against it, particularly following its issuance of arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The ICC charged Netanyahu with war crimes related to his government's actions in Gaza during the Hamas attacks. Trump also reiterated his support for Israel’s conflict with Iran and hinted at potentially aggressive future actions against that country.
Written by AI on 2026-09-22, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

As of September 2026, President Donald Trump told reporters that the U.S. is "hopefully toward the end" of its ongoing war with Iran, which began on February 28 and has lasted for seven months. Despite this hopeful statement, there are no clear timelines or significant de-escalation efforts in sight. The conflict continues to disrupt global oil supplies through the Strait of Hormuz, pushing up oil prices to over $108 per barrel. Additionally, Iran's foreign minister is under pressure from China and international concerns to reopen the strait and return to a previous interim peace deal with the U.S.

Meanwhile, tensions have escalated beyond Iran into Yemen, where Houthi rebels, aligned with Iran, pose significant threats near the Red Sea, complicating efforts at regional stability. The conflict has also drawn in other nations such as Saudi Arabia, which is offering extra crude oil through Oman to ease supply disruptions and stabilize oil prices.

At the United Nations General Assembly, Trump further alarmed global leaders by threatening to "annihilate" Iran if necessary, raising concerns about the potential for catastrophic outcomes involving nuclear weapons. This rhetoric contrasts sharply with past U.S. presidents who emphasized caution regarding such extreme measures. Despite these challenges, there is an urgent need for multilateral solutions and effective engagement through international bodies like the UN to address ongoing conflicts and crises around the world.

Written for “Trump's UN Speech Controversies” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 206 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Trump's UN Speech Controversies
Politics · 207 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 17% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Guardian
⚖️ Leans strongly left Hedges 7 of 44 claims Outlet record 66/100
The Straits Times
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 4 of 16 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A discusses the preparation and imminent announcement of sanctions against the International Criminal Court, while Article B reports on a speech where President Trump demands members resign immediately, referencing previous actions but describing a distinct incident.”
Toronto Star
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 3 of 20 claims Outlet record 64/100
The Straits Times
Hedges 2 of 20 claims Outlet record 66/100
The Guardian
⚖️ Leans strongly left Hedges 3 of 25 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A describes Trump's speech at the UN General Assembly criticizing the ICC and demanding resignations, while Article B discusses reactions to US sanctions threats against the ICC at a separate UN meeting organized by other nations.”
Al Jazeera
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 5 of 18 claims Outlet record 60/100
“Article A discusses sanctions prepared by the Trump administration against the ICC, while Article B reports on a speech where Trump demands members to resign from the ICC at the UN General Assembly.”
The Hindu
Hedges 1 of 33 claims Outlet record 60/100
“Article A reports on U.S. sanctions against two ICC officials, while Article B discusses Trump's speech at the UN General Assembly condemning the ICC and calling for nations to resign.”
The Guardian
Hedges 3 of 45 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A focuses specifically on Trump's remarks about the International Criminal Court during his UN address, while Article B covers a broader range of topics including threats to Iran and meetings with Iranian officials.”
The Straits Times
⚖️ Leans strongly left Hedges 2 of 14 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A describes Trump's schedule and agenda for meetings at the UN, while Article B reports on a speech where Trump criticizes the International Criminal Court. These are separate but related events occurring during the same general timeframe.”
TIME
⚖️ Leans strongly left Hedges 3 of 44 claims Outlet record 59/100
“While both articles discuss President Trump's criticism of the ICC at the UN General Assembly, Article B covers European leaders' reactions on a different day, indicating it is reporting on subsequent responses rather than the same specific incident.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
18
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
17%
3 of 18 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
59/100
The Independent's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
207
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-22 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Independent · 3661 article(s) · 10 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 10 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Maira Butt
64 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Also by Maira Butt
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 64 articles by Maira Butt →

Topics

Gaza ICC Iran Israeli U.S.

Subjects

Trump PERSON · 5× ICC ORG · 4× Netanyahu PERSON · 4× Iran GPE · 3× U.S. GPE · 3× Gaza GPE · 2× Israel GPE · 2× Israeli NORP · 2× Donald Trump PERSON · 1× the International Criminal Court ORG · 1×

Narrative

The president was speaking less than a week after a UN fact-finding mission said it had reasonable grounds to believe U.S. forces committed war crimes in two strikes on Iran, including one that hit a primary school in the southern city of Minab.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-22
🔮 “We will never allow U.S. service members or anyone else to be investigated or given show trials by an anti-American tribunal with no jurisdiction over us.”

Claims (18 extracted, 3 hedged)

President Donald Trump has called the International Criminal Court an “evil group of people” and has called on all of its members to resign. asserted
Trump → call → members
Addressing the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York Tuesday, the commander-in-chief called the court a “rogue institution” and claimed it was “out of control”. asserted
it → address → control
Trump’s administration has been vocal about its disdain for the court, which prosecutes war crimes and genocide worldwide, announcing sanctions against the body in February last year. asserted
which → prosecute → February
“I call on all nations that are members of the ICC to officially resign from this rogue institution immediately,” Trump said in front of the assembly of world leaders. asserted
Trump → call → leaders
“We will never allow U.S. service members or anyone else to be investigated or given show trials by an anti-American tribunal with no jurisdiction over us.” asserted
members → allow → us
Trump’s outburst follows reports his administration is preparing new sanctions against the ICC after the global tribunal issued an arrest warrant for his ally, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. asserted
tribunal → follow → ally
American officials told the Wall Street Journal last week that fresh moves to sanction the court could be finalised shortly after the General Assembly, which Netanyahu is set to attend later this week. uncertain
Netanyahu → tell → which
The ICC charged Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, in November 2024 with committing war crimes against Palestinians in Gaza following the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel. asserted
ICC → charge → Israel
The U.S. is not a member of the ICC and is not obligated to enforce the warrant. asserted
U.S. → obligate → warrant
It accused Netanyahu of being “responsible for the war crimes of starvation as a method of warfare and of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population” in Gaza. asserted
It → accuse → Gaza
The Israeli leader is also accused of “crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024.” uncertain
leader → accuse → May
Netanyahu denies the claims and has called them “antisemitic”. uncertain
Netanyahu → deny → them
During his UN address, Trump doubled down on his decision to join Israel in the war with Iran, while also claiming he would strike a peace deal after the November midterm elections. asserted
he → double → elections
“I have a big decision to make,” the president said. asserted
president → have → decision
“Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before? asserted
it → make → country
“Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again?” asserted
I → annihilate → people
The Iranian delegation walked out of the assembly after Trump made his latest threats. asserted
Trump → walk → threats
The president was speaking less than a week after a UN fact-finding mission said it had reasonable grounds to believe U.S. forces committed war crimes in two strikes on Iran, including one that hit a primary school in the southern city of Minab. asserted
that → speak → Minab
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