The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that the United States recently used Anthropic's artificial intelligence (AI) model "Claude" in airstrikes on Iran. Just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered all federal agencies to stop using Anthropic's technology, the United States carried out large-scale airstrikes against Iran with help from Claude.
WSJ, citing sources familiar with the matter, said multiple commands around the world, including U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), are using Anthropic's Claude. The sources said Central Command is using Claude for intelligence assessments, target identification, and battlefield simulations even as tensions rise between Anthropic and the Ministry of National Defense. Analysts say this shows how deeply AI tools, including Claude, are already embedded in military operations.
The U.S. Ministry of National Defense and Anthropic have been at odds for months over how and to what extent AI should be used. The ministry demanded that the scope of AI's military use be fully opened, but Anthropic held that its technology should not be used for mass surveillance or the development of fully autonomous lethal weapons.
In response, President Trump on the 27th, effectively a day before Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei (89), ordered federal agencies to stop using Anthropic's technology. In a post on Truth Social, Trump called Anthropic "radical left fanatics," criticizing that "their selfishness put American lives at risk and endangered the military and national security."
Immediately after Trump's order, U.S. Minister of Defense Pete Hegseth officially designated Anthropic as a "supply chain risk to national security." This is the first time the U.S. government has designated a domestic company, rather than a corporation from adversarial countries such as China or Russia, as a supply chain risk. Under the designation, Anthropic is barred from any commercial transaction with tens of thousands of contractors that do business with the U.S. Ministry of National Defense.
However, Trump said he would allow a six-month phased wind-down period because Anthropic's AI is currently used throughout U.S. government systems.
Claude is effectively the only AI currently usable on classified U.S. military systems, and the United States also used Claude in the process of arresting Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January. WSJ said, "Anthropic's technology is widely used through partners such as data analytics company Palantir, making replacement complicated," adding, "That is why a six-month grace period was set for phasing out the technology."
With Anthropic being fully pushed out, the Ministry of National Defense signed contracts with rivals OpenAI and xAI, led by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, to integrate their AI into classified networks.
Anthropic said in a statement, "No intimidation or punishment from the Ministry of National Defense will change our stance on large-scale domestic surveillance or fully autonomous weapons," adding, "Supply chain risk companies apply only to America's adversaries, so it is unfair to designate (Anthropic)," signaling a court challenge.
In the United States, as public opposition to the government's action spreads, a movement has emerged to boycott OpenAI's ChatGPT, which has government contracts, and use Anthropic's Claude. After the Trump administration's ouster decision, Claude topped Apple's U.S. App Store free app rankings for the first time, overtaking ChatGPT. An Anthropic Spokesperson told CNBC that new sign-ups hit an all-time high this week, free users have increased by more than 60% since January, and paid subscribers have more than doubled since the start of the year.