Most Americans believe the war with Iran has not been worth fighting, while President Donald Trump's approval rating on his handling of the conflict has declined slightly, according to a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
The survey found that about two-thirds of U.S. adults consider the conflict, which began on February 28, to have been not worthwhile. Public approval of Trump's handling of Iran fell to 28%, down from 34% last month, while Republican approval dropped from 71% in June to 61%, within the poll's margin of error.
The findings also show that Americans place greater importance on keeping gasoline prices low and negotiating a permanent ceasefire than on preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
Support for continuing military action remains limited. Only about two in ten Americans favour further operations, while roughly three in ten prefer pausing military action to seek a ceasefire.
Robert McClary, a 52-year-old Republican from Ohio, criticised the administration's handling of the conflict.
He added:
Jennifer Norton, a 71-year-old Republican from Tennessee, said she still supports Trump despite rising prices.
Ryan Sloan, a Republican from Florida, said he wanted more transparency about the escalation.
The poll also found that 72% of Americans consider preventing increases in oil and gas prices highly important, while around four in ten say fuel costs are a major source of stress.
The AP-NORC poll surveyed 1,165 adults from July 23 to 27 and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.
By Aghakazim Guliyev
