A new poll has found more than a quarter of Americans believe that US President Donald Trump should face war crimes charges in the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the January 3 killing of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force commander General Qasem Soleimani.
“Iran announced it will pursue war-crime charges against President Donald Trump at the International Criminal Court in The Hague over the assassination of Gen. Qasem Soleimani. Do you agree or disagree with such charges?” asked a recent Business Insider poll given to a total of 1,083 Americans.
According to the outlet, a total of 27.4% of those polled believed that Trump should face a war crimes tribunal in The Hague. However, a larger percentage, 35.6%, disagreed with the idea.
A total of 24.8% of respondents said they “neither agree nor disagree” with the tribunal and 12.2% responded “I don’t know.”
The poll comes after Gholamhossein Esmaeili, spokesman for Iran’s judiciary, announced the government intends to “file lawsuits in the Islamic Republic, Iraq and The Hague Court against the military and government of America and against Trump,” reported the Tehran Times. “The firmest reason for accusing an individual is his confession.”
It’s worth noting that the US does not recognize the ICC’s jurisdiction. Just last month, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that he did not support the ICC’s decision to launch an investigation into Israel’s alleged war crimes.
Today, the #ICC prosecutor raised serious questions about the ICC’s jurisdiction to investigate #Israel. Israel is not a state party to the ICC. We firmly oppose this unjustified inquiry that unfairly targets Israel. The path to lasting peace is through direct negotiations.
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) December 21, 2019
Trump’s foreign policy and overall conduct toward Iran have triggered pushback domestically from individuals such as Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). Responding to Trump’s Twitter threat earlier this month to target 52 areas “important to Iran & the Iranian culture,” both representatives denounced the warning and labeled his proposed actions as potential war crimes.
The President of the United States is threatening to commit war crimes on Twitter.
God help us all! #25thAmendment https://t.co/nYZSvpo8rG
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) January 5, 2020
