--- title: "Americans Broadly Disapprove of U.S. Military Action in Iran" description: "Most Americans say striking Iran was the wrong decision and disapprove of Trump's handling of the conflict, with stark partisan divides." date: "2026-03-25" authors: - name: "Steven Shepard" job_title: "Associate Director, Politics" link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/steven-shepard/" - name: "Andrew Daniller" job_title: "Research Associate" link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/andrew-daniller/" url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2026/03/25/americans-broadly-disapprove-of-u-s-military-action-in-iran/" categories: - "Donald Trump" - "Politics & Policy" - "War & International Conflict" topline: "https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2026/03/25/americans-broadly-disapprove-of-u-s-military-action-in-iran/topline" --- # Americans Broadly Disapprove of U.S. Military Action in Iran ## Table of Contents 1. [Americans Broadly Disapprove of U.S. Military Action in Iran](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2026/03/25/americans-broadly-disapprove-of-u-s-military-action-in-iran/markdown) - [Trump’s handling of the conflict with Iran](#trumps-handling-of-the-conflict-with-iran) - [Partisan views of the decision to use military force in Iran – and how the conflict is going](#partisan-views-of-the-decision-to-use-military-force-in-iran-and-how-the-conflict-is-going) 2. [Acknowledgments](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2026/03/25/iran-acknowledgments/markdown) 3. [Methodology](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2026/03/25/iran-methodology/markdown) ## Wide partisan gap in expectations for how long the conflict will last **About this research** This Pew Research Center analysis examines Americans’ views of the U.S. military action against Iran, which began in February 2026. #### Why did we do this? Pew Research Center conducts research to help the public, media and decision-makers understand important topics. We have studied Americans’ views of politics and major policy issues, including the use of U.S. military force, for decades. [Learn more](https://www.pewresearch.org/about/) about Pew Research Center. #### How did we do this? We surveyed 3,524 U.S. adults from March 16 to 22, 2026. Everyone who took part in this survey is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel. The survey represents the views of the full U.S. adult population. Here are the [survey questions](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/PP_2026.3.25_iran_questionnaire.pdf) used for this analysis, the [detailed responses](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/PP_2026.3.25_iran_topline.pdf) and the [survey methodology](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2026/03/25/iran-methodology/). Weeks into the U.S. military campaign against Iran, majorities of Americans say striking that country was the wrong decision and disapprove of President Donald Trump’s handling of the conflict. **About six-in-ten Americans (61%) disapprove of Trump’s handling of the conflict, while 37% approve.** ### About 6 in 10 disapprove of Trump's handling of Iran conflict; as many say decision to use force was wrong | | NET Disapprove | Strongly disapprove | Somewhat disapprove | Somewhat approve | Strongly approve | NET approve | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | % who __ of how Donald Trump is handling the U.S. military action against Iran | 61% | 44% | 17% | 19% | 18% | 37% | | | | | | | | | | | Wrong | Right | | | | | | % who say the U.S. made the __ decision in using military force in Iran | 59% | 38% | | | | | | | Not too/Not at all well | Somewhat well | Extremely/Very well | | | | | % who say the U.S. military action against Iran is going ... | 45% | 28% | 25% | | | | Note: No answer responses are not shown. Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted March 16-22, 2026. The new Pew Research Center survey of 3,524 U.S. adults, conducted March 16-22, also finds a similar balance of opinion on whether the initial decision to use military force was right (38%) or wrong (59%). And by nearly two-to-one, more say the military action is not going well (45%) than say it is going extremely or very well (25%). **But there are stark partisan differences in these views:** Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents overwhelmingly disapprove of Trump’s handling of the conflict (90%) and say the U.S. made the wrong decision in striking Iran (88%). In contrast, about seven-in-ten Republicans and Republican leaners approve of how Trump is handling the conflict (69%) and think the U.S. made the right decision (71%). ### About 3 in 10 Americans expect the war in Iran to last a year or more *How much longer do you think the U.S. military action against Iran will last? (%)* | category | percent | | --- | --- | | Less than 1 month | 8 | | 1 to 6 months | 35 | | 6 to 12 months | 25 | | 1 year or more | 29 | | DK/Ref. | 3 | Survey of U.S. adults conducted March 16-22, 2026. Still, sizable shares of Republicans take the opposing views. Republican-leaning independents, in particular, are divided. For instance, roughly half (52%) approve of Trump’s handling of the conflict, while 45% disapprove. #### How long do Americans think the war with Iran will last? A narrow majority of Americans (54%) believe the U.S. military action against Iran will continue for at least six more months, including 29% who think it will last a year or more. Roughly a third (35%) expect the war to last another one to six months, while 8% say it will end in less than a month. Most Republicans (58%) expect the war to end within the next six months. In contrast, 68% of Democrats think the war will continue for six months or more, including 40% who say it will still be going on a year from now. #### Will the war with Iran make the U.S. and the world safer or less safe? ### On balance, more Americans say U.S. action against Iran make the country, and the world, less safe *% who say U.S. military action against Iran will make ...* | | Less safe | About as safe as before | More safe | Not sure | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | The U.S. | 40 | 20 | 22 | 18 | | The world | 33 | 19 | 27 | 19 | No answer responses are not shown. Survey of U.S. adults conducted March 16-22, 2026. By nearly two-to-one, more Americans say the military action against Iran will make the U.S. less safe in the long run (40%) than say it will make the country safer (22%). Two-in-ten say the military action will leave the U.S. about as safe as before, while 18% say they are not sure. Americans are more evenly divided over the impact on safety around the world: 33% say the U.S. military action will make the world less safe, while 27% say it will make the world safer. About two-in-ten (19%) say it will make no difference, and an identical share are not sure (19%). ### Trump’s handling of the conflict with Iran In addition to the overall wide partisan divide over Trump’s handling of the conflict, there are sizable gaps *inside* the Republican coalition. ### Majority of Americans disapprove of how Trump is handling Iran conflict *% who say they ___ of how Donald Trump is handling the U.S. military action against Iran* | | NET Approve | Strongly approve | Somewhat approve | Somewhat disapprove | Strongly disapprove | NET Disapprove | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Total | 37 | 18 | 19 | 17 | 44 | 61 | | Rep/Lean Rep | 69 | 37 | 31 | 18 | 12 | 30 | | Rep | 79 | 47 | 32 | 12 | 8 | 20 | | Lean Rep | 52 | 22 | 30 | 26 | 19 | 45 | | Dem/Lean Dem | 9 | 2 | 7 | 16 | 74 | 90 | | Dem | 7 | 2 | 5 | 13 | 79 | 92 | | Lean Dem | 11 | 2 | 9 | 19 | 69 | 88 | No answer responses are not shown. Survey of U.S. adults conducted March 16-22, 2026. ##### Republican identifiers vs. leaners Among those who consider themselves Republicans, 79% say they approve of how Trump is handling the conflict. In contrast, about half of Republican-leaning independents (52%) say the same. ##### Younger vs. older Republicans There are also wide age gaps among Republicans: - 84% of Republicans 65 and older and 79% of those 50 to 64 approve of how Trump is handling the conflict. - Smaller shares of younger Republicans – 49% of those 18 to 29 and 60% of those 30 to 49 – say the same. By comparison, 90% of Democrats and Democratic leaners *disapprove* of Trump’s handling of the conflict. These views are largely consistent across both leaners and partisans, as well as across age groups. ### Partisan views of the decision to use military force in Iran – and how the conflict is going ##### The decision to use force in Iran ### Wide partisan divides over initial decision to use military force in Iran, and how the U.S. action is going | % who say the U.S. made the __ decision in using military force in Iran | Wrong | Right | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Total | 59% | 38% | | | Rep/Lean Rep | 26% | 71% | | | Dem/Lean Dem | 88% | 11% | | | | | | | | % who say the U.S. military action against Iran is going ... | Not too/not at all well | Somewhat well | Extremely/Very well | | Total | 45% | 28% | 25% | | Rep/Lean Rep | 21% | 32% | 46% | | Dem/Lean Dem | 69% | 23% | 6% | No answer responses are not shown. Survey of U.S. adults conducted March 16-22, 2026. Similar to approval of Trump’s handling of the conflict, Democrats overwhelmingly say the U.S. made the wrong decision to use military force in Iran (88%), while a narrower majority of Republicans (71%) say the decision was the correct one. Among Republicans ages 50 and older, 85% say the U.S. made the right decision in striking Iran. By comparison, a smaller majority (58%) of Republicans 18 to 49 say this. ##### How the conflict is going Entering the conflict’s fourth week, Republicans are far more likely than Democrats to say it is going well: - 46% of Republicans and Republican leaners say it is going extremely or very well, compared with just 6% of Democrats and Democratic leaners. - 69% of Democrats say the conflict is not going too well or not going well at all, and 21% of Republicans say the same. --- **Next:** [Acknowledgments](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2026/03/25/iran-acknowledgments.md)