CNN host Abby Phillip on Tuesday tried hard to get her conservative “NewsNight” panelists to explain why President Donald Trump has been unable to get the Strait of Hormuz reopened to U.S. ships if his war with Iran is as strategic as they suggested.

Trump threatened to bomb civilian infrastructure in Iran if the strait wasn’t reopened by 8 p.m. on Tuesday, which would have amounted to war crimes under international law. He announced a two-week U.S.-Iran ceasefire less than two hours before his deadline.

Despite Phillip noting Tuesday that Iran is still in control over the strait, CNN senior political commentator Scott Jennings continued to defend the war, and former gubernatorial candidate Chris Madel (R-Minn.) suggested that Iran has no power to keep the strait closed.

“It’s been severely degraded with respect to its missile capability,” Madel told Phillip. “Its army has been severely degraded. When they talk about trying to keep the Strait of Hormuz, that ‘We’re going to keep it closed,’ with their military — what navy? There is no Iranian navy.”

Phillip countered that Iran hasn’t used its navy to keep the strait closed, however.

She was about to inform her conservative guest that Iran has done so with the deployment of mines and low-cost drones when Madel interrupted with a wholly unrelated claim that the U.S. has made Iran “a safer place.”

“The thing that counters your point is that the Strait of Hormuz right now, as we speak, is closed,” Phillip said, prompting Madel to admit that it is, before she added: “So, if you’re saying … they have no power to close the strait, then why is it closed?”

“We are talking about a very temporary situation right now,” Madel responded.

The practicing attorney once again veered off from Phillip’s point that Trump has failed to secure control over the Hormuz Strait, asking the CNN host if she thinks “this is going to continue forever” and then boldly claiming the U.S. can “take the Strait of Hormuz anytime we want.”

“Hold on a second,” Phillip said. “How about you guys actually deal with reality? Five weeks—”

Jennings interrupted to claim he and Madel were actually asking Phillip to deal with reality, when she finished her thought and countered, “No, no, let me just ask you a quick question … Five weeks into this war, first question: Why is the Strait of Hormuz closed?”

Jennings said it’s closed because Iran is “choosing to harass people” mid-passage.

Phillip took this as a concession that the U.S. hasn’t been able to reopen the strait by force and said, “It’s closed, you agree that Iran is keeping it.” She then doubled down by reiterating, “The United States has threatened to use force to reopen it. Why have we not done it?”

Jennings argued Trump has asked other countries to help “deal with this” situation, but Phillip accurately noted that the MAGA leader “also said we don’t need them” and that the U.S. can reopen the strait themselves — before once again asking, “Why haven’t we done it?”

Jennings said Trump asked an international coalition to “deal with it, and they’re doing it.”

Phillip asked one final time, “You’re not answering my question: Why haven’t we done it?”

When the pro-Trump commentator argued that Trump wants other countries to “take some responsibility for it,” despite the strait’s closure being a direct result of Trump’s own making, Phillip trounced Jennings with a sobering summary of Iran’s capabilities and Trump’s failure.

“Iran has successfully, from a point of profound weakness, been able to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed,” she said, adding that this is the only reason Trump and his administration are even negotiating and considering Iran’s 10-point proposal to end the war.

Neither Jennings nor Madel addressed her point directly.

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