Most Americans do not support latest Iran strikes, 3 polls find
Three polls show us what Americans think after the attacks on Iran.
Three polls conducted in the wake of the initial U.S. attack on Iran find the American public largely unsupportive of the strikes in the Middle East.
A Washington Post poll conducted on March 1 found 52% of Americans opposed to President Donald Trump ordering airstrikes against Iran this past weekend, with another 39% in support and 9% unsure.
Strong opposition outweighed strong support, 39% to 22%.
While nearly 9 in 10 Democrats and about 6 in 10 independents opposed the strikes in the Post poll, about 8 in 10 Republicans supported it. Women opposed the strikes by a 26-point margin, while men were roughly split. Younger Americans were more likely to oppose the strikes as well.
Nearly half, 47%, in the Post poll said the U.S. should stop the military strikes against Iran, 25% said the U.S. should continue striking Iran and 28% were unsure.
While 76% of Democrats said the U.S. should stop strikes, a narrower majority of Republicans said the U.S. should continue strikes (54%). Independents said the U.S. should stop rather than continue strikes by about a 3-to-1 margin.
Three-quarters of Americans said in the Post poll that they were concerned about the possibility of the U.S. getting involved in a full-scale war with Iran, including 4 in 10 who said they were “very concerned.”
A CNN poll, conducted from Feb. 28 through March 1, also after the attack on Iran, found 59% of Americans disapproving of the U.S. decision to take military action in Iran, similar to the 56% who said the same in a June 2025 poll, the last time the Trump administration bombed Iran.
Overall, strong disapproval outweighed strong approval, 31% to 16%.
Slight differences in poll results can be attributed to wording differences in various questions and that Americans are still forming their opinions in the days right after a breaking news event.
The poll found 82% of Democrats and 68% of independents disapproving of the U.S. taking military action in Iran, while 77% of Republicans approved of it.
In both the June and current CNN polls, over half of Americans said the United States’ actions would result in Iran finding the U.S. more of a threat to their country and majorities saying that they do not trust Trump to make the right decisions about U.S. use of force in Iran.
Six in 10 Americans said in the most recent CNN poll that Trump does not have a clear plan for handling the situation in Iran. Moreover, 56% said they opposed the U.S. trying to overthrow the Iranian government and 60% opposed the U.S. sending ground troops into Iran.
Nearly 9 in 10 Democrats along with 7 in 10 independents said Trump does not have a clear plan for handling the situation in Iran; over 8 in 10 Republicans said he has a clear plan. Majorities of Democrats (76%) and independents (64%) oppose the U.S. sending ground troops into Iran; Republicans are more divided with 38% opposed, 27% in favor and 35% unsure.
About 6 in 10 Americans, 62%, said that Trump should be required to get congressional approval for any further military action in Iran. That includes more than 8 in 10 Democrats, nearly 7 in 10 independents and about 3 in 10 Republicans. A 44% plurality of Republicans said Trump should not be required to get congressional approval for further military action in Iran.
More than half, 56%, said that a long-term military conflict between the U.S. and Iran is likely, including majorities of Democrats and independents – Republicans were split with 44% saying it was likely and 44% saying it was unlikely.
The CNN poll found that about 7 in 10 Americans were following the United States’ military action in Iran either “somewhat” or “very” closely, including majorities of Democrats, Republicans and independents.
A Reuters-Ipsos poll conducted Feb. 28 through March 1, also after the attack, found Americans opposed to the U.S. military strikes against Iran, 43% to 27% with another 30% who said they were not sure or skipped the question.
The Reuters-Ipsos poll found a 56% majority of Americans saying Trump “is too willing to use military force to advance U.S. interests” while 35% said he has “about the right level of willingness to use military force to advance U.S. interests” and just 5% said he "is not willing enough to use military force to advance U.S. interests.”
Nearly 9 in 10 Democrats along with 6 in 10 independents said Trump is too willing to use military force, while a 73% majority of Republicans said his use was about right.
The Washington Post poll was conducted by text message March 1, 2026, among a sample of 1,003 U.S. adults through the SSRS Opinion Panel and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points overall.
The CNN poll was conducted by text message Feb. 28-March 1, 2026, among a sample of 1,004 U.S. adults through the SSRS Opinion Panel and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points overall.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted Feb. 28-March 1, 2026, among a sample of 1,282 through the Ipsos KnowledgePanel and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points overall.
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