A $201 million judgment affirms accountability for Iran's state-sponsored terrorism, but survivors remain at risk under Borochov and unpaid through an underfunded compensation fund — even as $3.5 billion in Afghan reserves could be released to victims by executive order.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- In a major victory for American veterans and their families, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia held the Islamic Republic of Iran liable for its role in supporting terrorist attacks in Afghanistan. The judgment in Baker v. Islamic Republic of Iran awarded $201,452,118 in combined compensatory and punitive damages to eight servicemembers and twenty-one immediate family members. ¹

Cameron Firm, PC is a veteran-owned law firm that serves veterans nationwide, focusing on appeals involving veterans' disability claims and related litigation under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA). Meridian 361 International Law Group, PLLC is a boutique international law firm recognized for assembling multidisciplinary expert teams and for its work in complex counter-terrorism cases, international dispute resolution, and FSIA litigation. Together, the two firms co-led the case that delivered this outcome.

The 61-page opinion, authored by Chief Judge Beryl A. Howell, found that Iran, through the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and allied networks, provided material support to terrorist groups that carried out roadside bombings, ambushes, and direct fire assaults against U.S. forces. Evidence showed that Iran even placed bounties of $1,000 on American soldiers' lives.

"This ruling sends a clear message: Iran cannot escape accountability for sponsoring terrorism against American troops," said Peter Cameron, attorney at Cameron Firm, PC. "The evidence showed a coordinated campaign of violence, financed and supported at the highest levels, that devastated servicemembers and their families."

The Awards: Relief for Servicemembers and Families

On average, each of the eight injured veterans received about $17.7 million, reflecting pain and suffering, economic losses, and punitive damages. Families were also recognized: parents were awarded $5 million each, spouses up to $8 million each, children $3 million each, and siblings $2.5 million each.

These awards reflect not just financial compensation, but acknowledgment of the enduring physical, emotional, and financial burdens borne by servicemembers and their loved ones.

"Our servicemembers and their families gave everything, and this judgment affirms that their suffering is not forgotten," said Ron Jenkins, attorney at Meridian 361 International Law Group, PLLC. "But unless Congress acts, many survivors of these attacks will continue to be denied justice."

Counsel and Representation

The plaintiffs were represented by Ron Jenkins of Meridian 361 International Law Group, PLLC, an Air Force veteran, and Peter Cameron of Cameron Firm, PC, a Navy veteran. Together, they built the case that brought accountability against Iran and recognition to those harmed by its state-sponsored terrorism.

The Problem: Borochov Narrows Justice

Even as Baker delivered long-overdue justice, the D.C. Circuit's ruling in Borochov v. Islamic Republic of Iran (March 2024) created a troubling limitation. That decision held that liability under FSIA exists only where there is an extrajudicial killing.

• If an attack resulted in a death, surviving victims and family members may pursue claims.
• If no one was killed, victims who were injured — no matter how severely — are not eligible. ² 

This new framework punishes servicemembers for surviving and refusing to let others die. It creates the perverse result that when Americans save lives on the battlefield, the law denies them recovery, while Iran, the sponsor of those attacks, is effectively rewarded.

The injustice was compounded when the U.S. Supreme Court denied review of Borochov in October 2024, leaving this restrictive interpretation as the final word — unless Congress acts. ³

"It should never be the case that justice turns on whether a servicemember died in combat," Cameron said. "Survivors live with lifelong wounds — physical and emotional — and yet the law now denies them the very accountability Congress intended."

The Other Issue: The Fund

The other issue is the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund. Chronically underfunded, victims remain unpaid, even while frozen Afghan money sits in the Federal Reserve. Created by Congress in 2015 to compensate victims like those in Baker, the Fund has never had the resources needed to pay claims in full. Payments are capped, while interest and punitive damages are excluded entirely. ⁴

In January 2024, no distribution occurred due to insufficient resources, while $7 billion in frozen Afghan assets remain unavailable or blocked in the Federal Reserve Bank in New York for U.S. victims. When President Biden moved $3.5 billion of those reserves into a so-called humanitarian trust, there has been little transparency about how those funds were or will be used.⁵ To date, the Afghan people have not benefitted in any meaningful way, and the risk remains that such funds could be diverted to the Taliban to fuel more terrorism.

By contrast, after the resolution of another recent legal case, the $3.5 billion still frozen in New York could be used immediately, with full accountability, to compensate American victims through the USVSST if President Trump acts by executive order. ⁶

"It is a cruel irony that our clients, injured by Iran's terrorism, sit unpaid while billions in frozen assets are debated for release back to the Taliban," Jenkins said. "President Trump should act now to release the $3.5 billion to victims, and Congress must also fix two things at once: restore full FSIA accountability so survivors are eligible, and fully fund the USVSST so victims of state sponsors of terrorism receive the justice they have already been promised."

A Call to Action

The Baker decision shows what justice looks like when FSIA is applied as intended. Survivors and their families were acknowledged, and Iran was held accountable for financing and supporting terrorism. Yet Borochov undermines that purpose by narrowing the law and leaving too many servicemembers unprotected.

Without fixing both FSIA and the USVSST Fund, servicemembers will continue to face a double injustice: first denied eligibility under Borochov, and then denied payment even when they win in court.

Cameron Firm, PC and Meridian 361 International Law Group, PLLC call on President Trump to act immediately by executive order to release the $3.5 billion to U.S. victims, and on Congress to amend FSIA and fully fund the USVSST. Survivors deserve both recognition in court and payment in reality.

"Justice for servicemembers against Iran should never depend on whether they or their comrades die in combat," Jenkins added. "And when our courts deliver accountability, the U.S. government must ensure that victims are actually paid."

Resources

1. Memorandum Opinion — Baker et al. v. Islamic Republic of Iran, No. 1:22-cv-02765 (D.D.C. Aug. 28, 2025). https://veteranappeal.com/resources/baker
2. Memorandum Opinion — Borochov v. Islamic Republic of Iran, 589 F. Supp. 3d 15 (D.D.C. 2022). https://veteranappeal.com/resources/borochov
3. Supreme Court Docket — Borochov v. Islamic Republic of Iran (Docket No. 24‑277): petition for certiorari denied on June 30, 2025. https://www.supremecourt.gov/docket/docketfiles/html/public/24-277.html
4.  U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund — https://www.usvsst.com/Home/Faq
5. White House Fact Sheet — Executive Order to Preserve Certain Afghanistan Central Bank Assets for the People of Afghanistan (Feb. 11, 2022). https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/02/11/fact-sheet-executive-order-to-preserve-certain-afghanistan-central-bank-assets-for-the-people-of-afghanistan/
6.  Reuters — September 11, embassy bombing victims cannot seize Afghan bank assets, U.S. appeals court rules. https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/september-11-embassy-bombing-victims-cannot-seize-afghan-bank-assets-us-appeals-2025-08-26/

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SOURCE Cameron Firm, PC