WASHINGTON — A classified briefing divided Democratic senators on Thursday, with some saying the briefing didn’t change their opinion on the strike and others describing it as a constructive meeting.

But most agreed: They need more information to determine the damage dealt to Iranian nuclear facilities by a United States military operation on Saturday.

“Nothing I learned from the briefing today would justify President Trump’s decision to bomb Iran or his failure to obtain Congressional approval as required by the Constitution,” Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen told The Baltimore Sun in a statement.

Although reactions to the briefing diverged among Democrats, multiple indicated that the briefing was helpful while stressing the need for more information before determining the effectiveness of the operation.

“We do not have a complete assessment yet of the impact of the strikes of last week,” Sen. Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat, told reporters. “When we do, I think that’ll answer a lot of currently unanswered questions.”

“It was a constructive briefing,” Coons added, declining to share details due to the classified nature of the discussion. “I came away feeling like I learned some valuable information.”

Although Coons said it was “too early” to know what exactly was destroyed and how long it will take Iran to rebuild the facilities, many Republicans felt confident that the operation set back Iranian nuclear plans by at least a year.

“My analysis of what they’re saying is it was severely damaged,” Sen. John Hoeven, a North Dakota Republican, told reporters, adding it would “absolutely” take Iran more than a few months to recover. “Whether that’s a year or years, we’ll find out more” as additional intelligence becomes available.

The briefing was led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and CIA Director Jim Ratcliffe.

The attack, officially titled Operation Midnight Hammer, featured several United States military aircraft, including multiple B-2 stealth bombers. It targeted three well-protected Iranian nuclear facilities — Fordo, Natanz, and Esfahan. Prior to the strike, as Israel targeted other Iranian facilities with volleys of missiles, experts predicted that only the United States possessed the weaponry to reach Fordo, buried within a mountain.

After the operation on Saturday, many congressional Democrats questioned Trump’s authority to bomb Iran since he didn’t receive prior congressional approval. They called for the administration to provide answers about the strike to members.

The meeting was originally planned for Tuesday; however, the administration delayed it until Thursday so Hegseth and Rubio could attend. The House of Representatives will receive a similar briefing on Friday.

“The strikes were a great success in terms of what they were intended to do,” Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, told reporters, adding that he had to be careful with his words.

Part of the briefing focused on the administration’s next steps, after Iran and Israel agreed to a ceasefire on Tuesday.

Sen. Mark Kelly, an Arizona Democrat, said that Rubio presented a “diplomatic path forward,” adding that the officials responded well to members’ questions.

“It was not a lot of controversy in there,” Kelly said

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