diff --git a/nac3core/build.rs b/nac3core/build.rs
index cd14b0cb..b56803dd 100644
--- a/nac3core/build.rs
+++ b/nac3core/build.rs
@@ -18,18 +18,13 @@ fn main() {
      * HACK: Sadly, clang doesn't let us emit generic LLVM bitcode.
      * Compiling for WASM32 and filtering the output with regex is the closest we can get.
      */
-    let flags: &[&str] = &[
+    let mut flags: Vec<&str> = vec![
         "--target=wasm32",
         "-x",
         "c++",
         "-fno-discard-value-names",
         "-fno-exceptions",
         "-fno-rtti",
-        match env::var("PROFILE").as_deref() {
-            Ok("debug") => "-O0",
-            Ok("release") => "-O3",
-            flavor => panic!("Unknown or missing build flavor {flavor:?}"),
-        },
         "-emit-llvm",
         "-S",
         "-Wall",
@@ -41,6 +36,17 @@ fn main() {
         irrt_cpp_path.to_str().unwrap(),
     ];
 
+    match env::var("PROFILE").as_deref() {
+        Ok("debug") => {
+            flags.push("-O0");
+            flags.push("-DIRRT_DEBUG_ASSERT");
+        }
+        Ok("release") => {
+            flags.push("-O3");
+        }
+        flavor => panic!("Unknown or missing build flavor {flavor:?}"),
+    }
+
     // Tell Cargo to rerun if any file under `irrt_dir` (recursive) changes
     println!("cargo:rerun-if-changed={}", irrt_dir.to_str().unwrap());
 
diff --git a/nac3core/irrt/irrt/debug.hpp b/nac3core/irrt/irrt/debug.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f5baea7a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/nac3core/irrt/irrt/debug.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+#pragma once
+
+// Set in nac3core/build.rs
+#ifdef IRRT_DEBUG_ASSERT
+#define IRRT_DEBUG_ASSERT_BOOL true
+#else
+#define IRRT_DEBUG_ASSERT_BOOL false
+#endif
+
+#define raise_debug_assert(SizeT, msg, param1, param2, param3)                                                         \
+    raise_exception(SizeT, EXN_ASSERTION_ERROR, "IRRT debug assert failed: " msg, param1, param2, param3);
+
+#define debug_assert_eq(SizeT, lhs, rhs)                                                                               \
+    if (IRRT_DEBUG_ASSERT_BOOL && (lhs) != (rhs))                                                                      \
+    {                                                                                                                  \
+        raise_debug_assert(SizeT, "LHS = {0}. RHS = {1}", lhs, rhs, NO_PARAM);                                         \
+    }
+
+#define debug_assert(SizeT, expr)                                                                                      \
+    if (IRRT_DEBUG_ASSERT_BOOL && !(expr))                                                                             \
+    {                                                                                                                  \
+        raise_debug_assert(SizeT, "Got false.", NO_PARAM, NO_PARAM, NO_PARAM);                                         \
+    }
\ No newline at end of file