(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Most people in five European countries and the United States have a clear idea of the best way to persuade the Iranian government to abandon its nuclear program, according to a poll by Harris Interactive released by France 24. At least 44 per cent of respondents in Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain—as well as 36 per cent of American respondents—think the international community should rely on diplomacy.

At least a third of respondents in the six nations surveyed think the best way to deal with Iran is to impose economic and commercial sanctions. One fifth of Americans—but fewer than 12 per cent of respondents in the European nations—would launch military strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities.

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 December 2006 and March 2007, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) imposed sanctions against Iran after it failed to stop uranium enrichment—a process needed both to make nuclear weapons and produce electricity.

On Oct. 25, Bush announced a new set of unilateral sanctions against Iran, which include the designations of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps as a "proliferator of weapons of mass destruction" and of the elite Quds Force as a "supporter of terrorism." The resolution has significant economic implications for Iran.

On Nov. 13, during a foreign policy speech, British prime minister Gordon Brown said his country will propose an international investment ban on Iran if the country continues to defy UN demands to stop its nuclear program, declaring, "Iran should be in no doubt about the seriousness of our purpose. (...) We will lead in seeking tougher sanctions both at the UN and in the European Union, including on oil and gas investment and the financial sector."

Polling Data

If Iran continues its uranium enrichment program, in spite of the repeated demands from the UN for a complete stop on that nuclear program, what attitude should the international community have among the following?

Source: Harris Interactive / France 24
Methodology: Online interviews with 6,645 adults in Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United States, conducted from Oct. 3 to Oct. 15, 2007. Margin of error for individual countries is 3 per cent.

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