Iran FM Slams Rubio Over ICC Remarks With Historical Warning Tale

Iranian FM Araghchi criticized US Secretary of State Marco Rubio for dismissing international law, using a Roman general's defeat to warn against the arrogance of power, following Rubio's aggressive rhetoric against the ICC tribunal.

Iran FM Slams Rubio Over ICC Remarks With Historical Warning Tale

Tehran [Iran], November 16 (ANI): Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Sunday (local time) took a dig at US Secretary of State Marco Rubio over his recent remarks against the International Criminal Court (ICC), invoking a historical reference and saying, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

Reacting to Rubio's warning to the Hague-based court, Araghchi criticised his remark, "Don't quote laws to men with swords," by recalling the fate of a Roman general who originally uttered the phrase. In a post on X, the Iranian Foreign Minister said, "'Don't quote laws to men with swords' was uttered by a Roman general whose final campaign ended in crushing defeat, despite numerical superiority. He was beheaded after fleeing the battlefield."

Offering what he described as a better maxim, Araghchi added, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." This comes after Rubio, last week, criticised the "weaponization of international law", calling it a tool of the elite and issuing a warning to the ICC. Addressing the Federalist Society National Lawyers Convention on Friday, Rubio cautioned the ICC against "quoting laws to men with swords", accusing the Hague-based tribunal of attempting to enforce rules that Washington does not recognise.

He also criticised the broader use of international law, drawing parallels with the judicial activism in the United States. "The weaponization of international law is not altogether different from what we've seen here at home. The activist courts who seek to govern by injunction, twisting the law to fit whatever their preferences happen to be at any given place or time," the US Secretary of State said. "Earlier this year, President Trump made the unprecedented decision to sanction the fake International Criminal Court. A fake court, which is an unelected world tribunal which claims to supersede the laws and constitutions of sovereign states, even those who never signed up for it," Rubio added.

Rubio's remarks came almost a month after Washington announced fresh sanctions against the ICC, vowing to cripple its operations. US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth also reiterated Rubio's remarks by sharing a clip of the State Secretary's statement on X, accompanied by the caption, "Stop quoting laws to MEN WITH SWORDS." (ANI)