UPDATE 1-U.S. to impose visa restrictions over ICC actions -Pompeo

The United States will impose visa restrictions on people responsible for any International Criminal Court probe, a move aimed at preventing actions against the U.S. and its allies in Afghanistan, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday. The Trump administration in September said that if the court launched a probe of war crimes in Afghanistan, it would consider banning ICC judges and prosecutors from entering the United States, sanctioning funds they have there and prosecuting them in U.S. courts.

Washington took the first step on Friday with Pompeo's announcement. "I'm announcing a policy of U.S. visa restrictions on those individuals directly responsible for any ICC investigation of U.S. personnel," Pompeo said at a news conference in Washington. (Reporting by Lesley Wroughton; Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu and Anthony Deutsch; Writing by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)