Far more Americans oppose US strikes on Iran than support them: Poll
Fewer than half of Americans surveyed oppose US strikes on Iran, with that figure dwarfing the number of people who do support military action, a new poll published by The Washington Post on Wednesday has found.
A random sampling of 1,008 US adults was texted by the paper to respond to several questions on what may be impending US operational involvement in air strikes on Iran, following Israel's attacks, which began on 13 June.
Results showed that 45 percent of respondents oppose US strikes "at this time" and only 25 percent said they support them, creating a significant 20-point margin.
The remaining 30 percent of respondents said they were "unsure".
Among Democrats, two-thirds oppose US military action, while among Republicans, only 24 percent are opposed.
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Those who said they do not identify with either political party largely oppose the strikes, at a figure of 44 percent.
The results showed that households with links to the US military showed less opposition to US strikes than those with no links. Still, in both cases, the majority of respondents do not want the US to attack Iran.
When The Post asked how much news they've heard about Israel's attacks on Iran and Iran's retaliation, 39 percent of respondents said "a good amount", but it was unclear what their sources of news were.
Opposing military action
However, The Post noted that support for US strikes on Iran was highest among people paying the most attention to the news. The caveat is that even within this particular group, more respondents oppose military action than support it.
Nearly equal amounts of US adults - 31 percent and 30 percent, respectively - said they either heard "a great deal" of news or "little to nothing" about Israel and Iran.
Only one-fifth of all respondents said Iran's nuclear potential poses "an immediate threat" to the US. Most are Republicans.
Nearly half of all respondents, 48 percent, said it is a "somewhat serious threat", while 23 percent said it is a "minor threat".
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Just seven percent of respondents do not believe Iran's nuclear potential poses any threat to the US at all.
Among Republicans, Democrats, and those who identify with neither, between 45 and 50 percent of respondents said the threat is "somewhat serious".
The vast majority of those surveyed, 82 percent, expressed concern about US involvement in the conflict, with 39 percent saying they are "very concerned".
Democrats looked to be the most concerned, while Republicans were the least concerned, the results showed.
The figures come as President Donald Trump reportedly weighs the prospect of dropping a one-of-a-kind 30,000 lb "bunker-buster" bomb on Iran's Fordow nuclear plant. Israel has made it clear it wants the US to join its attacks on Iran, not only to dismantle its nuclear capability, but also to collapse its governing structure.
Iran maintains that its nuclear research and enrichment are only for civilian purposes and to meet its energy needs.
The UN's nuclear watchdog and US intelligence assessments both indicate that Iran does not yet have the required elements to build a nuclear weapon.
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