Trump's Kharg Island Threat Collapses as USS Boxer Breaks Down

A mysterious rumor circulates through Washington's political and business circles as we speak. The ace warship Donald Trump originally intended to use for a major assault on Iran's oil lifeline mysteriously disappeared midway through its journey for over a hundred days. This bizarre vanishing act has left even Pentagon insiders tight-lipped.

The drama began in March of this year. Trump repeatedly threatened to "completely obliterating" Kharg Island if Iran refused to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and sign a new agreement. This island serves as Iran's economic lifeline and handles about 90 percent of the country's crude oil exports. If captured by the US military, it would trigger an immediate financial collapse for the Iranian regime.

Kharg Island: Iran’s strategic crude oil export lifeline.

The US Navy responded on March 19 with a high-profile deployment of its most powerful island-capturing ace. The USS Boxer amphibious assault ship departed from the San Diego naval base in California with 2,500 fully armed Marines and sped toward the Middle East. Global media naturally speculated that a genuine amphibious landing was imminent.

This warship is no ordinary vessel. The USS Boxer measures over 250 meters in length with a displacement exceeding 40,000 tons, making it comparable to a light aircraft carrier. It can rapidly deploy M1A2 main battle tanks alongside heavy armored vehicles when fully loaded with 2,500 Marines. The ship also features a field hospital and an ocean-going command center.

It remains the only main surface combatant in the US military's beach landing system capable of executing heavy-duty island-capturing missions. Aircraft carriers merely drop bombs, while destroyers only fire shells. The entire US military relies on this single ship to actually deploy troops onto foreign shores and occupy territory. Iran had anticipated this move early on and stood in strict readiness for a direct confrontation with the USS Boxer.

The reality is far less intimidating. Sources close to the military recently leaked information revealing that the USS Boxer went completely silent after passing through the Strait of Malacca. The massive warship repeatedly delayed its appearance in the combat zone. Whispers within small circles suggested that the ship's core propulsion system was completely crippled.

USS Boxer: US military’s core island-capturing warship.

Its speed reportedly dropped below that of a common fishing boat. The catastrophic failure forced the vessel to undergo on-site repairs on an isolated island in the Indian Ocean. The ensuing delay stretched for over 100 days and rendered the original landing timetable completely obsolete.

The US military's only frontline ship capable of executing an island-capturing mission practically evaporated at the most critical moment. Trump's bold claim to destroy Kharg Island was likely doomed to fail from the very beginning.

The truth finally emerged on July 9. The American news website Newsmax published an exclusive report citing three officials that confirmed the USS Boxer did indeed experience a malfunction. A problem with the main circulation pump of the engine cooling system forced the ship to undergo repairs and await spare parts at the joint US-UK base in Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.

The official version naturally avoided verifying the specific number of days rumored by the public. However, US officials themselves confirmed the malfunction, removing any doubt of unilateral speculation. The US has yet to provide a complete timeline detailing the exact delay or the true severity of the breakdown. Washington offered only a relatively downplayed explanation, keeping the exact truth closely guarded.

The Delay: Propulsion failure strands USS Boxer in June, delaying mission.

The ordeal of the USS Boxer is hardly an isolated incident. Higher-level official documents had already sounded the alarm well in advance. A 2024 report by the US Government Accountability Office explicitly pointed out that half of the 32 large amphibious ships currently active in the US military are in a state of poor readiness. Five out of the seven Wasp-class amphibious assault ships are actively experiencing issues.

General Eric Smith, Commandant of the US Marine Corps, previously admitted to Congress that the shortage of amphibious ships has reached a crisis level. He estimated it would take at least 10 years to resolve this systemic decline. The aging and low readiness rates of the US amphibious fleet are fully confirmed by the highest levels of the US military.

The Challenge: Complex maintenance heavily delays open-sea deployments.

The timing of these events is particularly intriguing. Trump suddenly acted out of character on June 11, right around the time the USS Boxer reportedly broke down. He announced the cancellation of a bombing operation against Iran scheduled for that very evening. He claimed that Iran's supreme leadership had approved the final terms of a new agreement, temporarily resolving the Strait of Hormuz crisis.

Less than three months passed between his bold claims to destroy Kharg Island and his hasty cancellation of military action. This pivot perfectly overlaps with the USS Boxer's maintenance cycle while stranded in the Indian Ocean. Trump likely knew he had no available forces left and resorted to diplomatic rhetoric to save face.

The key point is that an aging warship with over 30 years of service became the last straw for the US military's amphibious island-capturing capabilities. This fragile straw snapped at the most critical moment, suggesting the underlying truth is far more complex than the public narrative.

Washington remains eager to drop threatening rhetoric on social media to intimidate its adversaries. Yet, its actual execution capabilities fall dramatically short of even the most basic deployments. American hegemonic confidence is simply no longer what it used to be, a reality the Pentagon dares not answer directly.

Deep Throat

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The FCC was once a sleepy backwater. It auctioned spectrum. It licensed TV stations. Then came Trump. Reuters reported on August 10 that the agency has morphed into the administration's spearhead on China.

The FCC was a sleepy spectrum auctioneer. Now it's Trump's China spearhead.

Under Chairman Brendan Carr, a Trump ally, the FCC has spent nine months swinging a wrecking ball at Chinese tech. It banned imports of new Chinese drones, routers, inverters, and even humanoid robots. It also launched a process to block Chinese labs from testing smartphones, cameras, and computers destined for the US market. All are measures the US says threaten the supply chain.

Reuters also noted the FCC is drafting a ban on Chinese data center components. The aim: protect the US infrastructure that underpins the artificial intelligence boom.

US officials told Reuters the White House backs these moves. But here's the twist: the FCC is trying to do it all without provoking Beijing. The method? Target Chinese technology without ever saying 'China'. The idea is to keep the pressure on while avoiding a diplomatic blow-up. One official put it bluntly: the FCC is now 'the tip of the spear' of Washington's economic policy toward China.

The Trump administration wants to disrupt China's tech supply chain and boost US manufacturing, all while avoiding a diplomatic blow-up.

Officials described the FCC's playbook: don't mention China. Instead, ban foreign imports of specific technologies and then hand out exemptions to non-Chinese companies. The aim is to push Chinese equipment out of the tech supply chain and boost American manufacturing. The White House has given its blessing.

The China Hawk at the Helm

It is no exaggeration: The Trump administration has turned the FCC into the center of gravity for its competitive actions against China. That's the blunt assessment from Eric Sayers, a researcher at the American Enterprise Institute, a US think tank.

Brendan Carr took over the FCC in January 2025. He quickly made a name for himself with investigations into broadcast companies. Democrats blasted those moves as an attack on press freedom.

Brendan Carr, Trump's FCC chair, is a China hawk. He took office last January.

But Carr is also a 'China hawk.' Once at the helm, he made expanding national security authority his top priority. His focus: network and supply chain vulnerabilities from 'foreign adversaries,' with China at the very top of the list.

China Hits Back: Diversified and Tit-for-Tat

China is already pushing back. Beijing has repeatedly condemned the US actions as discriminatory treatment against Chinese companies. It warns those moves could disrupt global supply chains. And it will take necessary measures to safeguard its rights and interests.

On August 5, China fired back. As Guancha.cn reported, Beijing rolled out five countermeasures simultaneously to hit back at US restrictions. The Ministry of Commerce spokesperson urged Washington to “cherish the hard-won stability of China-US economic and trade relations”.  And the warning was blunt: if the US persists, China will retaliate further.

But foreign media noticed something else. They described China's latest moves as “restrained but diversified and tit-for-tat”.

The measures hit multiple fronts. China tightened export controls on drones and related technologies. It slapped sanctions on several US companies. And it launched its first-ever national security investigation tied to foreign trade.

Meng Weizhan, an associate professor at Fudan University's Institute for Advanced Study in Social Sciences, sees a clear message. Through what he calls “diversified and hard-hitting” moves, China is signaling that for every area the US expands, Beijing can retaliate in an adjacent or corresponding field.

Once Washington gets the message, Meng argues, it will become more cautious. Even if it doesn't back down right away, it will start counting the costs more carefully.