Democratic senators said they were left with questions Thursday about what was largely viewed as a successful strike in Iran, even as many cautioned the damage done to the country’s nuclear program may fall short of the Trump administration's claims.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe and other top intelligence officials briefed lawmakers for the first time about the Saturday strike — a meeting held as Trump administration officials have worked overtime to push their argument that the attacks left Iran’s nuclear facilities "obliterated.”

“The point is: We don’t know,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). “Anybody who says we know with certainty is making it up because we have no final battle damage assessment.”

“Certainly, this mission was successful insofar as it extensively destroyed and perhaps severely damaged and set back the Iranian nuclear arms program. But how long and how much really remains to be determined by the intelligence community itself,” he added.

Reports emerged Tuesday about a preliminary assessment that said the U.S. strikes may have set the Iranian nuclear program back by “a few months.” The administration has pushed back forcefully at those reports, including at a Pentagon briefing........

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