Did US Military use Anthropic Claude AI in Iran strikes after Donald Trump banned it? Here’s what we know

The chapter involving the US Department of War and Anthropic seems to have taken a different turn hours after President Donald Trump banned the use of Claude AI within government departments. The US military reportedly continued to rely on the company’s Claude AI model during recent airstrikes on Iran, just hours after President Donald Trump ordered federal agencies to halt its use, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.

Citing people familiar with the matter, the report revealed that US Central Command (CENTCOM) in the Middle East employed Claude for critical operational support, including intelligence assessments, target identification, and simulating battle scenarios ahead of and during the strikes.