• Americans strongly supportive of economic and diplomatic sanctions on Iran;
• But skeptical diplomacy will deter Iran from developing nuclear weapons;
• Most Americans support defending Israel in event of attack by Iran

Listen to today's conference call on Iran with Reps. Pete Hoekstra and Brad Sherman

Washington, D.C. – Two new bipartisan polls (PowerPoint) commissioned by The Israel Project (TIP) show that while Americans overwhelmingly support diplomacy with Iran, most think there is little (28 percent) or no chance (38 percent) that multinational negotiations and diplomacy will succeed. Only 27 percent believe Iran will honor an agreement to send enriched uranium out of the country.

TIP Founder and President Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi noted that “America and our allies are making important diplomatic efforts which Americans support. At the same time, Americans are not wearing rose-colored glasses as they watch these negotiations. In fact, they are very pessimistic about Iran honoring any agreement.”

Americans are strongly supportive of strengthening sanctions against Iran, with 80 percent in favor of expanding UN economic and diplomatic sanctions and 74 percent in support of preventing companies that provide Iran with refined petroleum from doing business in the United States. There is also strong support (84 percent) for backing opposition groups in Iran that are working for democracy and human rights.

Support for military action against Iran by the United States and its allies has doubled since 2006, though it has declined since August 2009. Opinion is currently divided evenly on support for strikes by the U.S. and its allies. 

A strong majority of Americans (59 percent) support the U.S. coming to the defense of Israel if Israel strikes Iranian nuclear facilities and Iran attacks Israel in response. Close to two-thirds of Americans support the U.S. coming to Israel’s defense if Iran uses Hamas and Hezbollah to strike Israel militarily, and Israel attacks Iran in response.

Neil Newhouse, the Republican partner of TIP’s bi-partisan polling team, commented, “Americans are wary of Iran and have little faith in negotiations and diplomacy alone. Even though there is no consensus on military action, we are seeing strong, bi-partisan support for expanding sanctions and supporting opposition groups inside Iran."

Democratic pollster Stanley Greenberg, Ph.D. of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research (GQRR) said, “Americans are losing patience with Iran, although they still strongly support the Obama Administration’s efforts to pursue diplomacy and stronger sanctions.”

The surveys were conducted jointly by Public Opinion Strategies (POS) and Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research (GQRR) Oct. 4-6, 2009 with 800 registered voters (margin of error: +/- 3.5 percent) and Oct. 12-14, 2009 with 807 registered voters (margin of error: +/-3.45 percent). Historical trend data is from surveys conducted by both POS and GQRR, and includes interviews of adults, registered voters, likely voters and opinion elites.