Most Americans want the U.S. to make a deal to end the war with Iran as quickly as possible

Majorities of Americans continue to oppose the war with Iran and disapprove of Donald Trump's handling of the situation, according to this week's Economist / YouGov poll. Most Americans say the U.S. should make a deal to end the war as quickly as possible, though few think the U.S. and Iran will reach such an agreement in the next two weeks.

A majority (58%) of Americans somewhat or strongly oppose the war with Iran. Only 31% support it. The war has drawn opposition from a majority of Americans in the Economist / YouGov Poll each time the question has been asked since mid-March (one poll in March didn't ask about support for the war). Views on the war this week are a bit more negative than last week, when 55% opposed the war and 32% supported it.

A majority (55%) of Americans also somewhat or strongly disapprove of the way Trump is handling the situation in Iran. 34% approve of Trump's handling. That's about the same as last week, when 57% of Americans disapproved and 35% approved. A majority of Americans have disapproved of Trump's handling of Iran in each Economist / YouGov Poll that asked about it since the start of the war (during that time one weekly survey didn't include the question).

Americans are more likely to say that going to war with Iran was the wrong decision in hindsight than to say it was the right decision (51% vs. 30%). The vast majority (83%) of Democrats say the war was the wrong decision in retrospect and Independents are much more likely to say it was the wrong decision than the right decision (59% vs. 17%). In contrast, two-thirds (68%) of Republicans say the war was the right decision and only 12% say it was the wrong choice.

Few Americans say that the war has resulted in better leadership in Iran. Only 7% of Americans say Iran's current leadership is better than before the war began. 39% say it has stayed about the same and 21% say it has gotten worse. Republicans (14%) are more likely than Democrats (5%) and Independents (4%) to say that Iran's leadership has gotten better.

While about half of Americans think it was the wrong decision to start the war with Iran, a much larger majority now want to end it quickly. 70% of Americans say that the U.S. should make a deal to end the war with Iran as quickly as possible. Only 10% say it should not. Majorities of Democrats (83%), Independents (73%), and Republicans (54%) favor seeking such a deal.

Views are more split on whether the U.S. should make a deal to end the war now if it would mean that Iran would not give up its enriched uranium. About one-third (35%) of Americans say the U.S. should make a deal even if Iran does not give up its enriched uranium, while a similar share (34%) say it should not — a group that includes the 10% of Americans who say the U.S. should not seek a deal to end the war as quickly as possible.

While most Americans want the U.S. to make a deal to end the war as quickly as possible, few think it is very likely that the U.S. and Iran will reach an agreement to end the war in the next two weeks. Only 12% of Americans say such a deal is very likely or almost certain. 41% say there is about a 50–50 chance of such an agreement and nearly half (47%) say it is unlikely or very unlikely. Republicans are more likely than Independents and Democrats to think a deal is close at hand: While 61% of Democrats and 50% of Independents say a deal is unlikely or very unlikely in the next two weeks, only 31% of Republicans say the same.

Not all of the Republicans who think an agreement is likely support such a deal. Republicans who say the U.S. should seek a deal to end the war as quickly as possible and those who say it shouldn't do so are about equally likely to expect the U.S. and Iran to reach an agreement in the next two weeks.

The U.S. and Iran negotiated a deal that would include a ceasefire and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, but that agreement quickly fell through. After the deal collapsed, the Trump administration announced that it would blockade ships that cooperated with Iran's government. More Americans oppose than support the plan to prevent ships from entering and exiting Iranian ports (44% vs. 36%). Three-quarters (74%) of Democrats oppose the blockade, and Independents are twice as likely to oppose it as they are to support it (49% vs. 24%). In contrast, three-quarters (73%) of Republicans support the blockade.

Image: Getty (Handout / Handout)

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