Trump Admin Admits to Using Grok to Bomb Iran In Federal Lawsuit Backing Musk – Truthout
The Trump administration is defending Musk’s data center by admitting that it has used its AI to enable strikes on Iran.
Support justice-driven, accurate and transparent news — make a quick donation to Truthout today!
On Monday, the Trump administration admitted for the first time that it has used Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company to support U.S. military operations, including bombing Iran.
The information came to light when the Department of Justice (DOJ) intervened in a federal environmental lawsuit filed by the NAACP against Musk’s data center in Mississippi. The DOJ argued that the judge should dismiss the lawsuit because the data center is vital to issues of national security — and admitted that xAI’s Grok Gov Model, owned by Musk, has been used to conduct U.S. military operations in Iran.
In a court filing, the DOJ claimed that the NAACP’s attempt to stop Musk’s company from running natural gas turbines in Mississippi “threatens American national, economic, and energy security” as the AI company “supports the Department of War’s military operations.”
In a supplemental declaration, the Department of Defense’s Chief Digital and AI Officer stated that the Pentagon “currently relies on derivatives of xAI’s commercial offerings known as the Grok Gov Model,” and that it is “deployed in Maven Smart Systems (MSS)” to “support vital national security missions, including targeting” and “intelligence.” The Grok Gov Model, he says, “offers features unique to xAI that are found in no other frontier AI model.”
Maven Smart System (MSS) is a software platform run by Palantir and used by the Department of Defense. When used together, MSS compiles satellite imagery and numerous other forms of data into one dashboard, and AI models process and synthesize the data; together, the AI systems decide on targets for the U.S. military to consider bombing.
In the Pentagon AI chief’s admission that they have used xAI in U.S. airstrikes on Iran, he says that the Grok Gov Model along with MSS “enabled U.S. forces to deploy over 2,000 munitions to 2,000 distinct targets within 96 hours during Operation Epic Fury, a testament to the greatly increased operational efficiency made possible by the Grok Gov Model.”
In March, it was revealed that the U.S. military used Claude AI to identify potential targets in its war on Iran, but after a dispute with the Pentagon, Trump ordered that Claude be replaced by other AI systems.
The elementary school that the U.S. bombed in Minab, Iran, on the first day of the U.S.- Israeli war on the country was reportedly struck due to data used by AI systems. It was a failure of both the Department of Defense and AI, as a database marking the school as connected to the Iranian state had reportedly not been updated despite its conversion to a school over a decade ago.
The NAACP lawsuit, filed in April, alleges that Musk’s company xAI and its subsidiary MZX Tech have been operating “dozens of unpermitted methane gas turbines” in Southaven, Mississippi, violating the Clean Air Act and creating health risks for families in the area. The gas turbines, the NAACP explained, pump out hazardous pollutants that are linked to increases in asthma, respiratory diseases, heart problems, and certain cancers.
“A data center should not be a potential death sentence for a community’s health,” said Abre’ Conner, the NAACP Director of Environmental and Climate Justice.
“By looking to evade clear air laws to operate dirty turbines that emit pollution and known carcinogens, these companies are following a shameful, familiar pattern: asking Black and frontline communities to bear the toxic brunt of ‘innovation,’” she continued.
It is noteworthy that the Trump administration is defending Musk’s data center — and its environmental hazards that disproportionately affect Black Mississippians — by admitting that the Pentagon has used its AI system to enable the launch of thousands of strikes on Iran.
The Pentagon has been clambering to acquire AI systems for use by the military – despite the fact that AI consistently makes errors, amplifying and exacerbating those already made by the Department of Defense in its reckless wars abroad.
Truthout is one of only a few platforms for justice-oriented, grassroots journalism. Today, as political censorship from the right intensifies, we have no choice but to ask for your help.
We are fundraising right now to cover our basic operating expenses. If you can support Truthout with a one-time or monthly donation, you will make a significant impact on our work. Anything you can do makes a difference — we appreciate your support.
This article is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), and you are free to share and republish under the following terms:
Shireen Akram-Boshar is a socialist writer, editor and Middle East/North Africa solidarity activist.
Get the news you want, delivered to your inbox every day.
Truthout must raise $47,000 for our basic publishing costs this month. We are appealing to our readers to make a one-time or monthly donation. Donate now if you can!
