The US reportedly used Anthropic's AI for its attack on Iran, just after banning it

Source: Engadget

Background

On February 27, President Trump posted on Truth Social that all federal agencies must “immediately cease all use of Anthropic’s technology” after a dispute between the Department of Defense and the AI company. He added that there would be a six‑month phase‑out period for agencies such as the Department of War that are using Anthropic’s products, meaning federal entities are expected to eventually move away from Claude or other Anthropic tools.

Recent Incident

A few hours after the announcement, the United States carried out a major air attack on Iran. According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, the operation was assisted by Anthropic’s AI tools despite the newly issued ban.

Prior Use

The WSJ previously reported that Claude was employed in the capture of the now‑removed Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro.

Future Outlook

The Department of Defense may begin transitioning to other AI options. Recent deals with xAI and OpenAI aim to bring their models into the federal agency network, but the WSJ notes that replacing Anthropic’s Claude with alternative models could take several months.

This article originally appeared on Engadget.