Israeli, US Strikes Damage Iran's AI Platform and Sharif Labs as Hackers Use ChatGPT at Scale
Updated
Updated · Financial Times · May 31
Israeli, US Strikes Damage Iran's AI Platform and Sharif Labs as Hackers Use ChatGPT at Scale
5 articles · Updated · Financial Times · May 31
Early April air strikes by Israel and the US severely damaged the data center hosting Iran’s national AI platform and AI research labs at sanctioned Sharif University, a key node in Tehran’s military modernization push.
Western AI models still helped Iranian hackers sharpen malware, generate fluent Hebrew and Arabic phishing lures, and automate fake personas, letting Tehran sustain cyber pressure despite lagging its adversaries technologically.
OpenAI said it regularly disrupts Iran-linked misuse of its services, while Google had already identified state-backed group APT42 using Gemini before the late-February conflict and found Iranian actors rely on chatbots heavily.
Iran’s AI effort extends beyond hacking: an FT review of about 300 military journal articles found work on drone guidance, electromagnetic warfare, underwater targeting and faster battlefield decision-making.
Analysts said the strikes are unlikely to erase that capability because Iran also uses open-source and locally built models on closed networks, making much of its AI infrastructure hard for outsiders to track.
As both the US and Iran weaponize AI, is an uncontrollable, high-speed automated war now inevitable?
After President Trump banned an AI firm over ethics, will Silicon Valley be forced to build weapons without limits?
When an AI with 60% accuracy picks a target, who is truly responsible for the resulting civilian deaths?
The 2026 Assault on Iranian Science: US-Israeli Strikes Hit Over 30 Universities and AI Centers
Overview
In April 2026, US-Israeli airstrikes marked a major escalation by targeting Iran’s technological infrastructure, including a direct hit on Sharif University of Technology’s data center and AI research center in Tehran. This attack destroyed critical computing resources, severely impacting Iran’s AI research capacity and disrupting online services. Fortunately, no casualties occurred at Sharif University due to online classes being in session. However, this strike was part of a broader campaign, with over 30 Iranian universities attacked since late February 2026, highlighting a systematic effort to cripple Iran’s scientific progress and technological self-reliance.