Polls & Research

No Ground Troops in Iran, Say Americans

- Many adults in the United States think it would be a mistake to launch direct military action against Iran, according to a poll by Zogby International released by Reuters. 70 per cent of respondents oppose the use of U.S. ground troops in the country.

After being branded as part of an "axis of evil" by U.S. president George W. Bush in January 2002, Iran has contended that its nuclear program aims to produce energy, not weapons. In June 2005, former Tehran mayor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won Iran's presidential election in a run-off over Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani with 61.6 per cent of all cast ballots.

In May, European Union (EU) foreign policy representative Javier Solana presented a package of incentives designed by Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the U.S. to achieve negotiations with Iran on the reach of its nuclear program. The most contentious topic of the proposal calls for Iran to temporarily halt its uranium enrichment activities.

In July, the five permanent members of the United Nations (UN) Security Council agreed on a resolution which calls for Iran to suspend uranium enrichment before the end of August, or face the threat of sanctions. Iran ignored the deadline.

On Sept. 19, Bush discussed the situation in Iran during his speech to the UN general assembly, saying, "Iran must abandon its nuclear weapons ambitions. Despite what the regime tells (the Iranian people), we have no objection to Iran's pursuit of a truly peaceful nuclear power program. We're working toward a diplomatic solution to this crisis."

In 1981, Israel launched a pre-emptive strike in Iraq to destroy the Osiraq nuclear reactor. 42 per cent of respondents would support a strike on Iranian nuclear facilities carried out by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF).

Polling Data

Support and opposition to specific measures on Iran