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Claude Has Been Used in Iran Attacks
Wes Roth
March 02, 2026
In partnership with
So Claude has been very “sticky” in the US classified ecosystem.
In the strikes on Iran, Claude was used for:
Intelligence assessments
Target identification
Simulating battlefield scenarios
here’s the full story:
The Backstory
Claude was already deeply embedded in classified military operations. US Central Command (CENTCOM) and other combatant commands were using it for intelligence assessments, target identification, and battlefield simulations. This came to light after Claude was reportedly used in the US raid to capture Venezuela's President Maduro in January 2026. Anthropic objected, pointing to their terms of service.
The Pentagon demanded Anthropic remove two restrictions from its contract:
No fully autonomous weapons (AI selecting/engaging targets without human oversight)
No mass domestic surveillance of Americans
Anthropic refused. The Pentagon gave them a deadline: 5:01 PM ET, Friday Feb 27 — drop the restrictions or lose the $200M contract.
Anthropic's position: They support all lawful military/national security uses EXCEPT those two. They argued current AI models aren't reliable enough for autonomous weapons (risk of friendly fire, civilian casualties) and that mass domestic surveillance violates fundamental rights.
The Ban
~4:00 PM ET: Trump posts on Truth Social:
"The Leftwing nut jobs at Anthropic have made a DISASTROUS MISTAKE trying to STRONG-ARM the Department of War, and force them to obey their Terms of Service instead of our Constitution. Therefore, I am directing EVERY Federal Agency in the United States Government to IMMEDIATELY CEASE all use of Anthropic's technology. We don't need it, we don't want it, and will not do business with them again!"
He called Anthropic a "Radical Left AI company run by people who have no idea what the real World is all about." Announced a 6-month phaseout.
Shortly after 5:01 PM ET: Deadline passes. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth designates Anthropic a "Supply-Chain Risk to National Security" — unprecedented for an American company. Posted on X:
"Effective immediately, no contractor, supplier, or partner that does business with the United States military may conduct any commercial activity with Anthropic."
"Anthropic will continue to provide the Department of War its services for a period of no more than six months to allow for a seamless transition to a better and more patriotic service."
"Anthropic delivered a master class in arrogance and betrayal as well as a textbook case of how not to do business with the United States Government or the Pentagon."
"America's warfighters will never be held hostage by the ideological whims of Big Tech. This decision is final."
Note: Hegseth used the Pentagon's rebranded name "Department of War" (changed from Department of Defense in Sept 2025).
Friday evening: Anthropic releases official statement saying they'll challenge the supply chain risk designation in court:
"We believe this designation would both be legally unsound and set a dangerous precedent for any American company that negotiates with the government."
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They also pushed back on Hegseth's claim that ALL contractors must cut ties with Anthropic, saying: "The Secretary does not have the statutory authority to back up this statement." Under federal law, the supply chain risk designation only applies to use of Claude as part of DoW contracts — not how contractors use Claude for other customers.
Anthropic said they "tried in good faith" to reach an agreement over months of negotiations. "To the best of our knowledge, these exceptions have not affected a single government mission to date."
Same evening — OpenAI swoops in: Sam Altman announces on X that OpenAI struck a deal with the Pentagon for use on classified networks. The kicker — Altman's post included:
"Two of our most important safety principles are prohibitions on domestic mass surveillance and human responsibility for the use of force, including for autonomous weapon systems. The DoW agrees with these principles, reflects them in law and policy, and we put them into our agreement."
Translation: OpenAI got the EXACT SAME safeguards Anthropic was banned for requesting. The Pentagon agreed to those terms with OpenAI while simultaneously calling Anthropic a national security threat for wanting them.
The government also threatened to invoke the Korean War-era Defense Production Act to compel Anthropic to allow use of its tools — though this was not ultimately exercised.
Operation Epic Fury / Iran Strikes
Joint US-Israel strikes on Iran begin (codenamed "Roaring Lion" by Israel, "Operation Epic Fury" by the US). The operation targeted key officials (reportedly including Supreme Leader Khamenei), military commanders, and facilities.
Per the Wall Street Journal (citing people familiar with the matter): CENTCOM used Claude during the operation for:
Intelligence assessments
Target identification
Simulating battlefield scenarios
This was HOURS after Trump ordered all agencies to stop using Anthropic. Claude was too deeply embedded in classified systems to remove overnight.
CENTCOM declined to comment on specific systems used in ongoing operations against Iran.
Sources confirming Claude use in Iran strikes: WSJ, Axios, The Guardian, Financial Express, WION, multiple others. No major outlet has contradicted the core claim.
Dario Amodei CBS Interview
Dario Amodei sat for a CBS News interview (aired March 1). Key quotes:
On the red lines:
"We have these two red lines. We've had them from Day One. We are still advocating for those red lines. We're not gonna move on those red lines."
On why autonomous weapons are dangerous:
"It doesn't show the judgment that a human soldier would show — friendly fire or shooting a civilian, or just the wrong kind of thing. We don't want to sell something that we don't think is reliable, and we don't want to sell something that could get our own people killed, or that could get innocent people killed."
On the ban being punitive:
"It feels very punitive and inappropriate, given the amount that we've done for U.S. national security."
"This designation has never happened before with an American company. And I think it was made very clear in some of their statements, in some of their language, that this was retaliatory and punitive. I don't know what else to call it. Retaliatory and punitive."
On being called "left-wing woke":
"We, I think, have tried to be very neutral. So, this idea that we've somehow been partisan, or that we haven't been even-handed? We've been studiously even-handed."
Message to Trump:
"We are patriotic Americans. Everything we have done has been for the sake of this country, for the sake of supporting U.S. national security. We believe in defeating our autocratic adversaries. We believe in defending America. The red lines we have drawn, we drew because we believe that crossing those red lines is contrary to American values. Disagreeing with the government is the most American thing in the world. And we are patriots."
On free enterprise:
"One of the things about a free market and free enterprise is different folks can provide different products under different principles. Our model has a personality. It's capable of certain things. It's able to do certain things reliably. And I think we are a good judge of what our models can do reliably and what they cannot do reliably."
Anthropic plans to take legal action. Amodei noted: "All we've seen are tweets from the president and tweets from Secretary Hegseth." They remain at the negotiating table.
more coming soon…
Wes “Stay Tuned” Roth
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