Poll Shows Americans Unhappy with Iran Deal

A CBS News and YouGov survey reveals that most Americans want the war with Iran to end but do not believe the agreement is advantageous for the US. A large majority of respondents think Iran's nuclear program cannot be stopped and its regional influence will continue.

Scraper SystemJune 24, 2026, 11:22 AM

Poll Shows Americans Unhappy with Iran Deal

The results of the first comprehensive survey on how the American public views the process following the agreement with Iran have been published. The poll sheds light on how the American electorate has assessed recent developments, while revealing striking data on both the course of the war and the future of the agreement.

According to a new poll conducted by CBS News and YouGov, a large majority of Americans support ending the conflict rather than expecting Iran to make further concessions. However, the same survey reveals that the public holds serious concerns about the war's outcomes, the Trump administration's strategy, and the agreement's long-term effects.

Let's take a closer look at the poll's results... 78 PERCENT OF AMERICANS SHARE THE SAME VIEW Follow Our News on Google Add us to your favorites to get instant access to the latest news and breaking developments via Google.

Add us as a preferred source on Google According to the poll, 78 percent of respondents support ending the war at its current point, while only 22 percent expressed support for continuing the conflict until Iran makes further concessions. This result presents an initially positive picture for the Trump administration.

Administration circles interpret the public's broad desire to end the war as support for the White House's approach. However, a closer look at the survey's details shows that this support does not stem from satisfaction with the agreement's content.

For instance, when respondents were asked which side the agreement is more advantageous for, only 22 percent said it favors the US. In contrast, 37 percent of respondents stated the agreement is more advantageous for Iran. Meanwhile, 41 percent of participants said they believe the agreement is balanced between the parties.

Even among voters from Trump's own party, only 39 percent shared the view that the agreement is more advantageous for the US. This result indicates that the agreement is not seen as a diplomatic victory even within his own base.

'FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, THE MAIN ISSUE IS NOT WHO WON OR LOST THE WAR' Security and Terrorism Expert, Retired Intelligence Colonel Coşkun Başbuğ, while evaluating the poll results published in the US, said the American public's priority is not the winner or loser of the war. According to Başbuğ, the main factor determining voter behavior is economic conditions and their impact on daily life.

Başbuğ stated that the poll results should be read carefully, saying, "These polls certainly send important messages, but I do not think the American people view the issue through the lens of whether Iran won or lost, or whether the US achieved its strategic goals. The priority of the ordinary citizen in the US is their own economic situation, not foreign policy.

People look at the money they pay at the grocery store, fuel prices, energy costs, and living standards. That is why they care about how much the continuation of the war costs them," he said. Pointing to the war's impact on global energy markets, Başbuğ noted that every rise in oil prices does not only increase fuel costs.

It pushes prices up across a very wide range, from transportation to production, from food to basic consumer goods. The American people are aware of this. Therefore, a significant portion of people want the war to end as soon as possible, not to continue. Because they believe that only in this way can markets normalize again, price pressures ease, and economic stability be achieved.

In short, the citizen's basic expectation is not geopolitical success stories, but a more comfortable life and stronger purchasing power," he added. 'REACTIONS AGAINST ISRAEL HAVE GROWN BOTH AMONG THE PUBLIC AND IN POLITICAL CIRCLES' Başbuğ noted that social reactions against Israel have also increased recently in the US, saying that the political repercussions of this are beginning to be seen.

Başbuğ said, "We are seeing a serious increase in anti-Israel sentiment and criticism of Israeli policies in the US public sphere lately. This situation was initially seen more in certain segments of society, but it now appears to be spilling over into the political arena.

Therefore, it is possible to say that this social shift is as influential as economic concerns in the debate between those who want the war to continue and those who want it to end," he assessed. DOUBTS ABOUT STOPPING IRAN'S NUCLEAR PROGRAM The survey also asked respondents whether the war was strategically successful.

While 45 percent of Americans said the war was not a strategic success, only 29 percent stated they believed the operations achieved their strategic goals. According to experts, this picture shows the public is dissatisfied not only with the war's costs but also with the results produced.

Voters appear to hold serious doubts particularly regarding the halting of Iran's nuclear program, one of the goals the Trump administration emphasized most frequently during the conflict. The Trump administration had argued throughout the war that its primary goal was to permanently stop Iran's nuclear program. However, the CBS poll revealed that a large majority of Americans do not believe this goal will be achieved.

Sixty-nine percent of respondents think that even if the agreement is finalized, Iran's nuclear program cannot be completely stopped. Forty-five percent of Republicans who participated in the poll also stated they do not believe the agreement will permanently end Iran's nuclear activities. These results align with the findings of another survey conducted by Fox News in mid-June.

In that poll, 64 percent of registered voters expressed the view that a potential peace agreement would not prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons in the future. Coşkun Başbuğ stated that Iran's priority in the current process is economic gains, not political or military ones, and said that after the war ends, the international agenda will refocus on Iran's nuclear program.

Newsletter Subscription Form Başbuğ, recalling that Iran faced serious internal and external pressures before the war, said, "At the point we have reached today, we see that Iran is focusing primarily on economic gains. Because we must not forget that Iran was going through an extremely critical period before the war started.

Economic troubles were growing inside the country, social unrest was increasing, and various discussions about the regime's future were coming to the fore. In fact, there was a period when some circles were even discussing the possibility of Iran facing internal turmoil or even the risk of fragmentation. However, with the start of the war, all these topics were pushed to the background and the international agenda shifted to a completely different point.

The nuclear issue is important for Iran. We will see what kind of outcome emerges from the agreement, but Iran does not seem likely to give it up easily," he said. PESSIMISM ALSO PREVAILS REGARDING IRAN'S REGIONAL INFLUENCE The poll assessed not only the nuclear program but also Iran's regional influence and future behavior.

According to the results: 1- Sixty-eight percent of respondents believe the agreement will not prevent Iran from threatening other countries. 2- Forty-eight percent of Republicans share the same view. 3- Seventy-nine percent of respondents state the agreement will not bring the Iranian government closer to the US. 4- Seventy-four percent think the agreement will not make the Iranian people safer and freer.

These data show that the public believes the agreement can only stop the current conflict but will be insufficient to solve broader geopolitical problems. VIEW THAT IRAN HAS NOT WEAKENED IS WIDESPREAD The Trump administration argued throughout the war that Iran's military capacity had been dealt a heavy blow and the country had been significantly weakened. However, the public does not share this assessment.

According to the survey, only 37 percent of Americans believe Iran has become weaker compared to before the war. While 38 percent of respondents say Iran's power has not changed, 25 percent state that Iran has become even stronger after the war. In other words, roughly 6 out of 10 Americans believe Iran remains at least as strong after the war as it was before.

Experts assess that Iran's continued influence over the Strait of Hormuz and its retention of the capacity to affect global energy markets are influential in shaping this perception. 'THE WAR CREATED MORE PROBLEMS THAN IT SOLVED' One of the poll's striking results concerned assessments of the war's overall balance sheet.

Fifty-seven percent of respondents said the war created more problems than it solved. In contrast, only 21 percent stated they believed the war solved more problems than it created. This result reveals that a significant portion of the public believes the strategic and political costs of the conflict outweigh the gains achieved.

"This situation needs to be evaluated separately for each country," said Coşkun Başbuğ, offering the following commentary: -- For example, from Israel's perspective, the war created far greater problems than expected. Israel became more isolated internationally, and criticism and exclusionary trends increased in the US as well. Therefore, Israel was one of the war's heaviest losers.

When evaluated from Iran's perspective, the process presented a different picture. Instead of deepening its existing problems, the war strengthened Iran's hand in some areas and allowed it to find solutions to various issues. Therefore, Iran can be seen as one of the parties that gained a certain degree of advantage from the developments. -- From the US perspective, the process brought new problems with it.

Washington suddenly had to manage the Israel issue more directly and confronted the realities in the region. In the end, the US had to complete this process without achieving a concrete gain in the Middle East, while bearing significant economic costs. TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SEEN AS HAVING BEEN CAUGHT OFF GUARD The survey also asked voters whether the Trump administration had correctly calculated the war's economic consequences.

Sixty-four percent of respondents stated they believe the war's impact on the global economy was greater than the administration expected. The economic fluctuations caused particularly by energy prices, global trade routes, and developments in the Strait of Hormuz are assessed to have raised questions in the public mind about the administration's crisis planning.

AMERICANS WORRY ABOUT A LONG-TERM CONFLICT The Fox News survey published in mid-June also revealed voters' discomfort with long-term military engagements. According to that poll, 70 percent of registered voters stated they were concerned about the war turning into a long-term commitment, while 87 percent said it was important for the US to avoid a prolonged war.

Although the Trump administration initially predicted the conflict could be concluded within four to six weeks, the fact that the war has been ongoing for about four months is cited among the factors increasing public impatience. Don't Miss Out Mitsotakis hit by 'Qatargate' blow View the news

Poll Shows Americans Unhappy with Iran Deal