By Jason Lange
WASHINGTON, March 2 (Reuters) – Only one in four Americans approves of U.S. strikes on Iran that have plunged the Middle East into chaos, while about half — including one in four Republicans — believe President Donald Trump is too willing to use military force, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.
Some 27% of respondents said they approved of the strikes, which were conducted alongside Israeli attacks on Iran, while 43% disapproved and 29% were not sure. About nine in 10 respondents said they had heard at least a little about the strikes, which began early on Saturday with a surprise attack that killed Iran’s leader.
The poll, which closed on Sunday, showed that 56% of Americans think Trump, who has also ordered strikes in Venezuela, Syria and Nigeria in recent months, is too willing to use military force to advance U.S. interests. The vast majority of Democrats – 87% – held this view, as did 23% of Republicans and 60% of people who don’t identify with either political party.
The poll was conducted amid ongoing attacks on Iran by the U.S. and Israel, and closed before the U.S. military announced the first American casualties in the operation.
Four U.S. service members have been killed during the campaign, which prompted retaliatory missile and drone strikes by Iran on Israel and on U.S. military installations across the region. Three U.S. jets were shot down during combat missions, which the U.S. military said happened when they came under fire by mistake from Kuwaiti air defenses.
CONCERN ABOUT HARM TO TROOPS
While 55% of Republicans said they approved of the strikes and 13% disapproved, the Reuters/Ipsos poll found 42% in Trump’s party said they would be less likely to support the Iran campaign if it leads to “U.S. troops in the Middle East being killed or injured.”
Trump’s presidential approval rating ticked slightly lower to 39%, one percentage point below a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted February 18-23.
The strikes on Iran began three days before the first primaries of the U.S. midterm elections, which will determine whether Trump’s Republicans maintain their majorities in Congress for the next two years. Reuters/Ipsos polls have consistently shown that voters’ top concern heading into the elections is the economy, far more than foreign affairs.
WORRY OVER FUEL PRICES
Some 45% of poll respondents, including 34% of Republicans and 44% of independents, said they would be less likely to support the campaign against Iran if gas or oil prices increased in the United States.
Prices for Brent crude surged 10% to about $80 a barrel in over-the-counter trade on Sunday, oil traders said. Analysts predicted prices could climb as high as $100 due to the latest conflict.
The United States and Israel launched their strikes after negotiations in Geneva between the U.S. and Iran failed to secure a breakthrough over Tehran’s nuclear program.
Washington wants Iran to give up all uranium enrichment because it believes Tehran wants to build a nuclear bomb. Iran denies wanting a bomb and says it wants to process uranium to make fuel for atomic power plants.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll found about half of respondents – including a third of Democrats – said they would be more likely to support the strikes on Iran if they lead to the country giving up its nuclear program. Trump said on Sunday that Iran’s new leadership wants to talk to him and he has agreed, according to an interview with the Atlantic magazine.
The most recent Reuters/Ipsos poll gathered responses online from 1,282 U.S. adults nationwide. It had a margin of error of three percentage points.
(Reporting by Jason Lange in Washington; Editing by Scott Malone, Bill Berkrot and Edmund Klamann)
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