U.S. Central Command reportedly used Anthropic‘s Claude AI during the Trump administration’s major air operation against Iran, just hours after the president ordered federal agencies to stop using the company’s technology.

Claude Deeply Embedded Across Combat Operations

The Wall Street Journal, citing sources, reported that the ban was announced just hours before the military operation was launched. Claude was used by the U.S. Central Command in the Middle East for intelligence assessments, target identification, and simulating battle scenarios.

Despite ongoing tensions between Anthropic and the Pentagon, the AI tool remains deeply embedded in military operations.

The Trump administration and Anthropic have been at odds for months over the Pentagon’s use of Anthropic’s AI models. This led to Trump ordering federal agencies to cease working with Anthropic, with the Defense Department labeling it a security threat and supply chain risk.

The military has previously used Claude in high-profile missions, including the operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

OpenAI Moves In

Just hours after the ban was declared on Anthropic, OpenAI announced a deal to deploy its AI tools in the Pentagon’s classified systems.

The feud stems from Anthropic’s refusal to allow unrestricted Pentagon use during contract negotiations, compounded by its lobbying against the administration’s AI policy.

The feud also reflected broader industry tensions, as more than 100 employees of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and OpenAI jointly demanded “red lines” in Pentagon AI contracts.

Photo courtesy: gguy on Shutterstock.com

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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