U.S. says 'Project Freedom' will reopen Hormuz Strait for commerce. Experts are skeptical

Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz near Bandar Abbas, Iran, May 4, 2026. Amirhosein Khorgooi | ISNA | WANA | Via Reuters Defense and geopolitical experts are skeptical that "Project Freedom," the Trump administration's new effort to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial traffic, will succeed. "In my view, it's not a solution at all," Jennifer Kavanagh , senior fellow and director of military analysis at Defense Priorities, a libertarian-leaning foreign policy think tank, said of the operation. …