According to a snap poll conducted by the American newspaper The Washington Post, 45 per cent of Americans oppose U.S. military action against Iran.
The survey, which was conducted via text message on Wednesday and received more than 1,000 responses, comes as U.S. President Donald Trump considers entering the war between Israel and Iran on Tel Aviv’s side.
Results showed that 45 per cent of respondents oppose U.S. strikes “at this time,” and only 25 per cent said they support them, creating a significant 20-point margin.
Additionally, when asked about “how serious a threat” they believe Iran and its nuclear programme pose to the U.S., just 22 per cent of respondents said it was “an immediate and serious threat.”
Another 48 per cent called it “a somewhat serious threat,” while 23 per cent called it “a minor threat,” and 7 per cent said it was “not a threat.”
The results point to a significant level of public scepticism towards military escalation, with a 20-point margin separating those in opposition and those in favour.
Jahangir Mohammed from the Ayaan Institute told 5Pillars the poll results were to be expected.
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“It’s not surprising at all. Most of the public were against the Iraq war — and they were right. Iraq never had WMDs. People were told it could hit the West in 45 minutes. It was a lie. That memory hasn’t gone.
“But today is something even bigger. A live-streamed genocide. The world is watching Israel act with total impunity, and Western leaders openly backing them. It’s shocking.”
He added: “This isn’t just Muslims speaking out. It taps into the human fitrah. Everyone, Muslim or not, instinctively hates slaughter and injustice. People aren’t buying the Israeli-American narrative anymore.”
Jahangir Mohammed also noted rising support for Iran on Western streets, calling it “unsurprising.”
“What is shocking,” he added, “is that we’re even hearing calls for attacks against Israel. A few years ago, I would never have dreamt that.”
Commenting on British public opinion, he said: “The shift is even greater in the UK. People see through the lies now. That’s what’s driving this change.”
According to a recent YouGov poll, only 19% of the UK public would support Israel in a full-scale war with Iran. Just 5% said they would support Iran. Half said they would stay neutral — a pattern similar to U.S. public sentiment.
This marks a significant shift since 2020. A USA Today/Ipsos survey released after the killing of senior Iranian general Qassem Soleimani showed 36% of Americans supported Trump’s airstrikes on Iran – a figure now 11 points lower.
Political shift
The political landscape has also changed. Lawmakers across both parties are pushing back against any move toward war.
According to the Washington post poll, two-thirds of Democrats expressed opposition to military action, underscoring a strong anti-war sentiment within the party’s base.
In contrast, 47% of Republican participants said they would support the strikes, while 24% opposed them and 29% remained undecided.
Among those who voted for Trump, 46% back airstrikes on Iranian, while 26% are against them and 28% remain undecided.
A growing coalition now includes both pro-Trump Republicans and progressive Democrats. They share a deep scepticism of U.S. wars abroad, shaped by the legacies of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Representative Thomas Massie, a libertarian Republican, has joined forces with Democrat Ro Khanna to introduce a war powers resolution.
Their goal is to require the administration to obtain congressional approval before engaging significantly in the conflict.
The resolution asserts that “the Constitution does not permit the executive branch to unilaterally commit an act of war against a sovereign nation that hasn’t attacked the United States.”
Progressive Democrats including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib have pledged support for the measure.
“The American people aren’t falling for it again,” said Tlaib on a post on X. “We were lied to about ‘weapons of mass destruction’ in Iraq that killed millions.”
She added that entering war without a congressional vote would be unconstitutional.
As memories of past wars linger and images of present-day atrocities flood public consciousness, both American and British publics appear increasingly unwilling to support another military adventure in the Middle East.
