Iran and Houthis Leveraged AI for Espionage and Weapons Development

Iran and its Houthi allies have been utilizing the AI model Claude for intelligence gathering, surveillance of Israelis, identifying military targets, and advancing missile technology, according to an investigation by Anthropic, the company that developed Claude. The findings detail how Iran and affiliated entities exploited the AI for espionage, military, and repressive purposes between late 2025 and August 2026.

One user, linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, created an automated intelligence tool using Claude. This system collected and analyzed open-source data on hundreds of Israelis and members of Jewish communities in Western countries, contributing to target lists and detailed profiles of Israeli and American citizens, including government officials and NGO staff. Another Iranian user employed Claude for military applications, tracking U.S. Navy vessels, identifying military personnel, and assessing vulnerabilities in maritime infrastructure. Anthropic noted that while AI is expanding its capabilities beyond analysis to complex operations, human decision-making remained crucial for target selection.

The Houthis in Yemen used Claude as a substitute for software engineers in their efforts to develop long-range ballistic missiles and hypersonic glide vehicles. Following a failed test, they consulted the AI for a post-mortem analysis. Anthropic found no evidence that these missile developments reached operational status.

Within Iran, Claude was also used for domestic surveillance. Two security units created 16 accounts to monitor social media, profiling thousands of citizens. One unit developed a malicious browser extension disguised as a prayer schedule app to covertly gather user information from Iranian social networks. Iranian propagandists used the AI to create fake personas and networks for disseminating messages, sometimes attributing false statements to Western research centers to enhance credibility.

Anthropic also identified the "Mojahedin-e Khalq" organization using Claude to mimic a real activist based on their online activity. Additionally, entities linked to the UAE government used the model to prepare fabricated evidence for UN institutions. An Israeli-Singaporean company experimented with Claude to analyze individuals in Iran and the Persian Gulf, aiming to determine political leanings and create fake profiles, but Anthropic blocked access before the project could be deployed against real targets.