The US military relied on artificial intelligence developed by Anthropic during its recent air strikes on Iran — just hours after President Donald Trump directed federal agencies to stop working with the company, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.
Citing people familiar with the matter, the WSJ reported that US defence commands, including United States Central Command (CENTCOM), used Anthropic’s Claude AI system during the operation. The tool was reportedly deployed for intelligence assessments, identifying potential targets and simulating battle scenarios ahead of the strikes.
CENTCOM declined to comment on the specific systems being used in the ongoing operation against Iran, the report said.
The development comes shortly after Trump ordered all federal agencies to “immediately cease” using Anthropic’s technology, accusing the company of posing a national security risk. He also directed the Pentagon to designate Anthropic as a “supply chain risk” and begin a six-month phase-out of its systems across agencies.
The WSJ noted that Claude had previously been cleared for use in classified military and intelligence environments through partnerships involving Palantir Technologies and Amazon Web Services. The AI model was also reportedly used during a January operation in Caracas that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Madurowho was later transferred to New York to face drug-trafficking charges.
Anthropic is among a small group of major AI labs — alongside OpenAI, Google and xAI — that secured multi-year Pentagon contracts worth up to $200 million each to provide advanced AI capabilities.
In a recent blog post, Anthropic said designating it as a supply chain risk would be “an unprecedented action” historically reserved for US adversaries, adding that it intends to challenge the move in court. The company also said it has supported US military operations in classified networks since June 2024 and plans to continue doing so.
According to the WSJ, the continued use of Claude in high-profile missions highlights how deeply integrated the AI system has become in US military operations, even as tensions between Anthropic and the Pentagon intensify.
Anthropic’s CEO Dario Amodei reiterated on February 19, 2026, that the company’s primary red lines in its dispute with the US military are fully autonomous weapons with no humans in the loop and large-scale mass surveillance, which it says conflict with ethical and democratic principles. Amodei noted that while Anthropic has developed AI models used for national security purposes, those specific uses are off limits under the company’s safety commitments.
Earlier, on February 14, The Wall Street Journal reported that Anthropic’s AI model Claude was used in a US military operation that resulted in the capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Claude’s involvement came through Anthropic’s partnership with data analytics firm Palantir Technologies, whose platforms are widely used across the Pentagon and federal law enforcement, the report added.
Also Read: Anthropic says will challenge ‘supply chain risk’ label in court after US bars agencies from using its products
