Americans Increasingly Disapprove of Iran Deal

Major U.S. polls have overwhelmingly found that Americans are increasingly skeptical of the nuclear deal struck last month between the P5+1 and Iran. Nearly two-thirds of Americans lack confidence that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) will prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, and significant pluralities disapprove of the deal.  Most polls also conclude that the majority of Americans believe Congress should reject the JCPOA. Even polls that pre-supposed the JCPOA would stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons found that most Americans believe that the deal will not work.

Pew Research Center Poll – July 14-20, 2015

Results: More Americans disapprove than approve of the proposed deal and most are not confident in Iran’s ability to uphold the agreement.

Question: “From what you know, do you approve or disapprove of this agreement? [If necessary: The recent agreement on Iran’s nuclear program between Iran, the United States and other nations].”

• 48 percent of Americans familiar with the agreement disapprove of it, while 38 percent  approve.

Question: “How much confidence do you have that Iran’s leaders will uphold their side of the agreement? A great deal of confidence, a fair amount of confidence, not too much confidence, or no confidence at all?”

• 73 percent of Americans familiar with the agreement are not confident that Iran’s leaders will uphold their commitments, while 26 percent are confident.

CNN Poll – July 22-25, 2015

Results:  More Americans than not believe Congress should reject the deal.

Question: “As you may know, the U.S. Congress must approve the agreement the United States and five other countries reached with Iran that is aimed at preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons before it can take effect. Do you think Congress should approve or reject the deal with Iran?”

• 52 percent of Americans believe that Congress should reject the deal with Iran, while 44 percent believe that Congress should approve it.

Washington Post-ABC News Poll – July 16-19, 2015

Results: Most Americans are not confident that this agreement will prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

Question: “How confident are you that this agreement will prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons – very confident, somewhat confident, not so confident or not confident at all?"

• 64 percent of Americans are not confident that this agreement will prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, while 35 percent are confident.

Secure America Now Poll – July 22-23, 2015

Results:  More Americans than not believe Congress should reject the deal.

Question: “From what you have seen, read or heard about the Obama’s administration’s deal with Iran regarding their nuclear program, do you want your U.S. Senators and Congressman to vote Yes or No upon the deal between the Obama administration and Iran?”

• 45 percent of likely voters want their U.S. Senators and Congressman to vote no to the deal, while  29 percent want their U.S. Senators and Congressman to vote yes.

Results: Americans oppose the deal with Iran by a 2-1 margin, and more Americans than not believe the deal will make the world less safe.

Question: “Do you support or oppose the nuclear deal with Iran?” 

• 57 percent of registered voters oppose the nuclear deal with Iran, while 28 percent support the deal.

Question: “Do you think the nuclear deal with Iran would make the world safer or less safe?” 

• 58 percent of registered voters think the nuclear deal with Iran will make the world less safe, while 30 percent think it will make the world safer. 

NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll – July 26-30, 2015

Results: The longer the debate goes on about the Iran deal, the more Americans are increasingly in opposition to the deal.

Question: As you may know, an agreement has been reached between Iran and a group of six other nations, including the U.S. The agreement attempts to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon by limiting Iran’s ability to produce nuclear material and allowing inspections into Iran’s nuclear sites in exchange for reducing certain economic sanctions that are currently in place. Do you support or oppose this agreement or do you not know enough to have an opinion?

• Only 35 percent of respondents support the agreement while nearly two-thirds of respondents oppose the deal or have no opinion. 

• The NBC/WSJ poll also asked respondents in June if they supported the proposed deal. From June to July, support for the deal decreased from 36 percent to 35 percent, while during that same period the number of Americans opposing the deal increased from 17 percent to 33 percent.