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FRI · 2026-05-01 · 17:51 GMTBRIEF NSR-2026-0501-73088
News/Economic confidence plummets in US amid /Poll finds 61 percent of Americans believe attacking Iran wa…
NSR-2026-0501-73088News Report·EN·Human Interest

Poll finds 61 percent of Americans believe attacking Iran was a mistake

A recent Washington Post-ABC-Ipsos poll reveals that 61 percent of Americans believe the decision to launch military action against Iran was a mistake. Released on Friday, the poll indicates that a majority of respondents are concerned about the war's impact on the cost of living, with 44 percent reporting cutbacks in driving and 42 percent in household expenses due to higher gas prices.

Brian OsgoodAl JazeeraFiled 2026-05-01 · 17:51 GMTLean · CenterRead · 2 min
Poll finds 61 percent of Americans believe attacking Iran was a mistake
Al JazeeraFIG 01
Reading time
2min
Word count
342words
Sources cited
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Quality score
75%
§ 01

Briefing Summary

AI-generated
NEWSAR · AI

A recent Washington Post-ABC-Ipsos poll reveals that 61 percent of Americans believe the decision to launch military action against Iran was a mistake. Released on Friday, the poll indicates that a majority of respondents are concerned about the war's impact on the cost of living, with 44 percent reporting cutbacks in driving and 42 percent in household expenses due to higher gas prices. This sentiment coincides with a drop in President Trump's approval ratings, as voters express frustration over economic issues. The poll also found that the war's unpopularity is comparable to that of the Iraq War in 2006 and the Vietnam War in the early 1970s, despite relatively low US troop casualties.

Confidence 0.90
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Full report

2 min read · 342 words
Poll finds that Americans are concerned about impact of the war on the cost of living and sceptical of success thus far.A new poll has found that a large majority of people in the United States believe that the decision to take military action against Iran was a mistake, as the war roils the global economy and fuels cost-of-living concerns in the US.A Washington Post-ABC-Ipsos poll released on Friday shows that 61 percent of respondents believe the use of military force against Iran was a mistake, with just 36 percent saying it was the right decision.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Iran war: What’s happening on day 63 as Trump signals possible attackslist 2 of 3Iran vows ‘long, painful’ response if US renews attackslist 3 of 3More than 40 Iranian seafarers killed during US-Israeli war: Union leaderend of listThe poll is the latest to find low levels of support for the war launched against Iran by the US and Israel in late February, which has killed thousands of people across the Middle East and sent global energy prices surging.Asked if they had changed their behaviour due to higher gas prices, 44 percent of respondents said they had cut back on driving, and 42 percent said they had done the same for household expenses. Those figures increased to 56 percent and 59 percent for respondents making less than $50,000 per year.Those concerns come at a time when President Donald Trump’s approval ratings have dropped to new lows, with voters expressing frustration over economic issues and the cost of living.The war has also been depicted as a contrast with Trump’s promise to keep the country out of unnecessary foreign wars, and 46 percent of respondents said the decision to attack Iran was inconsistent with the position Trump took during his presidential campaign.Despite relatively low casualty figures among US forces, the poll found that the war on Iran is as unpopular as the Iraq War was during a period of heightened violence in 2006 and the Vietnam War was in the early 1970s.
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Keywords & salience

9 terms
attacking iran
1.00
cost of living
0.90
public opinion
0.80
military action
0.70
global economy
0.60
trump approval ratings
0.50
foreign wars
0.40
iraq war
0.40
vietnam war
0.40
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