The International Criminal Court has said it will continue its work 'undeterred' following threats from the Trump administration.

Yesterday, the US national security advisor John Bolton threatened to ban ICC judges from entering the US and to sanction them if they proceed with any investigation into Americans.

The court is currently carrying out a preliminary examination into any potential war crimes in Afghanistan, with prosecutors working to determine if a full investigation is warranted.

The examination includes "acts allegedly committed by members of the US armed forces and of the CIA".

Prosecutors have also found a 'reasonable basis' to believe that US troops had committed "war crimes of torture and cruel treatment, outrages upon personal dignity and rape and other forms of sexual violence" at detention sites in Afghanistan.

In a speech to the Federalist Society in Washington yesterday quoted by Al Jazeera, Mr Bolton said the ICC is "already dead to us".

He observed: "The United States will use any means necessary to protect our citizens and those of our allies from unjust prosecution by this illegitimate court."

"We will ban its judges"

Mr Bolton insisted the US would not cooperate with any ICC investigation, adding: "We will respond against the ICC and its personnel to the extent permitted by US law. We will ban its judges and prosecutors from entering the United States.

"We will sanction their funds in the US financial system, and we will prosecute them in the US criminal system. We will do the same for any company or state that assists an ICC investigation of Americans."

He also stated that the US would stand with Israel, amid calls by Palestinian authorities for an ICC investigation into Israeli actions in the West Bank and Gaza.

Mr Bolton announced that the US would close the Palestine Liberation Organisation's office in Washington as a result of those calls.

In a statement quoted by The Guardian, the ICC insisted that is an "independent and impartial judicial institution".

The court said: “The ICC, as a court of law, will continue to do its work undeterred, in accordance with those principles and the overarching idea of the rule of law.”

The US has never ratified the Rome Statute which established the the UN-backed ICC in 2002, and has instead introduced the American Service-Members' Protection Act.

The law - widely referred to as The Hague Invasion Act - aims to protect military and government officials against ICC investigations, including using "all means necessary" to bring about their release.