Most U.S. voters said the Trump administration should support “an Israeli effort” to go after Iran’s nuclear program in a poll conducted before Israel launched strikes on Iran Friday morning.
The Harvard-Harris poll, taken June 11 and 12, asked 2,097 registered voters, “If no acceptable deal with Iran is reached over its nuclear weapons, should the administration support or oppose an Israeli effort to take out Iran’s nuclear weapons program?”
Sixty percent said the administration should back an Israeli effort to dismantle Iran’s nuclear program, while forty percent were opposed.
Democrats were fairly evenly split, with 53 percent saying the administration should oppose the effort versus 47 percent who said it should support an Israeli effort.
Of the Republicans polled, 78 percent think America should back an Israeli effort, while 22 percent think it should oppose one. A majority of 54 percent of independents are in favor of the administration backing such an effort, while 46 percent think the administration should not back one.
Israel’s strikes on Friday morning took out key Iranian military leaders and nuclear scientists, as well as nuclear sites and refineries.
It comes after President Donald Trump said Thursday he would not want Israel to launch an attack if a deal could be struck with Iran, noting an attack could potentially “blow up” his administration’s talks with Iran about dismantling its nuclear program.
“It might help, actually, but it also could blow it,” he said.
Trump said after the strike that Iran could have a “second chance” after missing the deadline on his first 60-day ultimatum.
“Two months ago I gave Iran a 60 day ultimatum to ‘make a deal.’ They should have done it! Today is day 61. I told them what to do, but they just couldn’t get there. Now they have, perhaps, a second chance!” he wrote in a post.
In the poll, conducted ahead of Israel’s strikes, 60 percent, including 37 percent of Democrats, 85 percent of Republicans, and 56 percent of independents, said they supported Trump and his team negotiating with Iran, while 40 percent of all respondents opposed it.
Nearly three-quarters of respondents said the United States should only accept a deal in which Iran agrees to forfeit its nuclear enrichment capabilities. This included 72 percent of Democrats, 73 percent of Republicans, and 76 percent of independents. Just 24 percent of all participants believe this does not need to be a precondition for a deal.
A plurality of 45 percent did not believe a deal would be reached, 32 percent said a good deal would materialize, and 23 percent thought a bad deal would be made.
The poll carries a margin of error of ± 2.2 percentage points.
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