---
title: "Europeans and Americans Share Concerns About Iran’s Nuclear Program"
description: "Europeans and Americans share concerns about Iran’s emergent nuclear capabilities, though Russians are less worried."
date: "2009-11-18"
authors:
  - name: "No Author"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2009/11/18/europeans-and-americans-share-concerns-about-irans-nuclear-program/"
categories:
  - "Nuclear Weapons"
  - "Nuclear Weapons"
---

# Europeans and Americans Share Concerns About Iran’s Nuclear Program

by Erin Carriere-Kretschmer, Senior Researcher, Pew Global Attitudes Project

![](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2009/11/1416-1.gif)

As international pressure mounts on Iran to halt its nuclear program, Americans and Europeans generally express serious concerns about the potential threat from a nuclear-armed Iran. However, these fears are somewhat muted in Russia -- a nation that will be crucial to any effort to impose new sanctions on Iran.

A [14-nation survey](https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2009/11/02/end-of-communism-cheered-but-now-with-more-reservations/) by the Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project, conducted Aug. 27 through Sept. 24, finds worries about Iran developing nuclear weapons most common among Americans: 82% say that this would be a major threat to the well-being of the U.S. Similarly, concerns are widespread in Western Europe -- large majorities in Spain (81%), Germany (79%), Italy (78%) and France (74%) view Iran's emergent nuclear capabilities as a major threat.

This view is less common among Eastern Europeans. Still, 69% of Czechs view Iran's potential nuclear capabilities as a threat, as do more than six-in-ten in Poland (65%), Bulgaria (63%) and Lithuania (62%). Roughly half in Slovakia (52%) and Hungary (46%) express worry about Iran developing a nuclear capacity.

By contrast, there is less concern about this issue in Russia, which, as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, has veto power over any UN effort to impose sanctions on Iran. Just over four-in-ten Russians (41%) say Iran's potential nuclear status poses a major threat to their country, while 48% deem it only a minor threat or not a threat at all. Ukrainians are even less worried -- only 27% say Iran's emergent nuclear status is a major threat to their country, while nearly half (48%) say it is a minor danger or no danger at all. Many in Ukraine say they don't know (26%).

### More Concern About a Nuclear Iran than Extremists Taking Over Afghanistan or Pakistan

![](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2009/11/1416-2.gif)

In each of the nations surveyed, more people consider a nuclear armed Iran a major threat than say this about [two other potential dangers](https://www.pewresearch.org/2009/11/11/americans-and-western-europeans-agree-on-afghanistanpakistan-extremist-threat/): the Taliban regaining control of Afghanistan and extremists taking control of Pakistan.

Majorities in 11 of the 14 countries say that a nuclear Iran poses a major threat to their own country; across the 14 nations, the median percentage rating a nuclear Iran a major threat is 66%.

Majorities in only six of the countries surveyed consider extremists taking over Afghanistan or Pakistan to be a major danger to their country. The median percentage rating extremists taking over Afghanistan a major threat is 48%. Similarly, the median percentage saying extremists taking over Pakistan is 44%.

See [topline results](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/old-assets/pdf/1416.pdf) for more information.