Catherine Herridge/X
Recently leaked military memos have surfaced, revealing that U.S. service members stationed at Al Asad airbase during Iran’s 2020 retaliatory missile strike may have been exposed to hazardous and radioactive materials, according to a documentary by Catherine Herridge.
The strike, which occurred on January 8, 2020, was Iran’s retaliation for the U.S. drone strike that killed top Iranian General Qassem Soleimani just days earlier, ordered by then-President Donald Trump.
Iran’s missile barrage on Al Asad airbase remains one of the deadliest strikes in modern military history, with eleven missiles, each weighing over 1,600 pounds, raining down on U.S. forces. Soldiers describe it as nothing short of a miracle that anyone survived.
Alan Johnson, a retired flight surgeon at Al Asad, recounts the overwhelming concussive force of the explosions, “It’s like falling off a four-story building onto your back and surviving.”
While initial reports focused on the traumatic brain injuries suffered by many soldiers, new evidence suggests that these brave men and women may have been exposed to toxic substances that pose long-term health risks.
A 2021 Army memorandum distributed to soldiers who were at Al Asad airbase confirms that military personnel may have been exposed to hazardous materials.
The memo, titled “Exposure to Hazardous and Toxic Materials,” instructed service members to retain the document in case they developed future illnesses linked to the exposure.
The document, obtained by Herridge, reveals that radioactive elements such as Actinium-228, Bismuth-214, and Cesium-137 were detected in soil samples taken from the base just days after the attack.
Retired Army Judge Advocate General (JAG) Lieutenant Colonel Robert Broadbent, who now represents over 180 plaintiffs, including affected soldiers, has likened this situation to the infamous Agent Orange exposure from the Vietnam War.”
Catherine Herridge: Are these military records an acknowledgement that Iran’s ballistic missile attack exposed US service members to toxic agents?
Robert Broadbent: 100%.
Catherine Herridge: It describes radiation and heavy metals.
Robert Broadbent: They absolutely are directly related to those ballistic missiles… We’re going to have another Agent Orange situation. Ten years down the road, these service members are going to be out and they’re going to be dying. And the court dismissed the case. They said a death had to occur.
Catherine Herridge: Just to be clear, up until this administration, an attempted killing still opened the courthouse doors.
Robert Broadbent: Correct.
Catherine Herridge: So this is a change under the Biden-Harris administration.
Robert Broadbent: It is a change that happened in the past two years. Congress has got to step in and act. Both the courts and the executive branch have sided with Iran.
According to Herridge’s report on the Daily Mail, earlier this year, a federal court dismissed the lawsuit against Iran, citing the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, which blocks American citizens from suing foreign governments in many cases.
Broadbent is now calling on Congress to amend the law to hold Iran accountable for the attack.
Service members affected by the Al Asad strike have reached out to lawmakers, including Senators John Cornyn, Amy Klobuchar, and Thom Tillis, urging them to take action.
While the Biden administration has shown little inclination to pursue the matter further, Broadbent believes a change in policy could make a significant difference for the veterans affected by the attack.
WATCH:
BREAKING: Leaked Military Memos Indicate US Soldiers Were Exposed to Potentially Toxic Agents Including Radioactive Materials After Iran’s Jan 2020 Ballistic Missile Attack On Their Base
Retired Army JAG Says Both The Courts And The Biden-Harris DOJ Have “Sided with Iran.”… pic.twitter.com/NQua6E9U70
— Catherine Herridge (@C__Herridge) October 3, 2024