July 14, 2007

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - People in Iran defend their country's right to develop nuclear energy but are split on whether the technology should be used to build a nuclear arsenal, according to a poll by D3 Systems for Terror Free Tomorrow. 91.5 per cent of respondents favour having nuclear energy, while 52 per cent support building nuclear weapons.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - People in Iran defend their country's right to develop nuclear energy but are split on whether the technology should be used to build a nuclear arsenal, according to a poll by D3 Systems for Terror Free Tomorrow. 91.5 per cent of respondents favour having nuclear energy, while 52 per cent support building nuclear weapons.

Iran became an Islamic Republic after the monarchy was abolished in 1979. The Ayatollah Khomeini commanded a group of Muslim clerics who controlled the country for the next decade, which included a devastating conflict with Iraq over a border dispute. In June 2005, former Tehran mayor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won the presidential election in a run-off over Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani with 61.6 per cent of all cast ballots.

In December 2006, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) unanimously voted to impose sanctions against Iran after it failed to stop uranium enrichment. Ahmadinejad claimed the sanctions were illegitimate, and has recently announced his country is successfully enriching uranium—a process needed both to make nuclear weapons and produce electricity—in an "industrial scale."

In May, inspectors for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced that Iran has found a solution to technological problems and can now enrich uranium on a larger scale than before.

On Jul. 12, Olli Heinonen, the IAEA's chief of delegation in Iran, said the agency and Iran have "reached an agreement on the modality for resolving the remaining outstanding issues" regarding Tehran's nuclear program. Mediators reportedly said that talks had largely focused on a "transparency plan" proposed by Tehran to address the IAEA's remaining questions about Iran's nuclear program.

Polling Data

Do you favour or oppose the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran developing nuclear energy?

Strongly favour	77.9%
Somewhat favour	13.6%
Somewhat oppose	1.8%
Strongly oppose	3.8%
Refused	1.0%
Don't know	1.9%

Apart from nuclear energy, do you favour or oppose the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran developing nuclear weapons?

Strongly favour	33.0%
Somewhat favour	19.0%
Somewhat oppose	4.8%
Strongly oppose	37.0%
Refused	1.3%
Don't know	5.0%

Source: D3 Systems / Terror Free Tomorrow
Methodology: Telephone interviews to 1,000 Iranian adults, conducted from Jun. 5 to Jun. 18, 2007. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent.

Complete Poll (PDF)

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