Three in five Americans oppose joining Israel's war on Iran: poll

A new YouGov–Economist poll shows that most Americans, across party lines, want to stay out of Israel's escalating war with Iran.

According to the poll released Tuesday, 60 percent of Americans oppose joining Israel's campaign against Iran, while only 16 percent support US intervention. The results reflect broad reluctance to enter another Middle East war despite rising tensions and increasingly aggressive rhetoric from Washington.

Broken down by party affiliation, 65 percent of Democrats, 61 percent of Independents, and 53 percent of Republicans oppose involvement. Only 15 percent of Democrats, 11 percent of Independents, and 23 percent of Republicans said they supported joining the conflict.

This comes even as 61 percent of Americans view Iran's nuclear programme as a threat, but a majority, 56 percent, still favour negotiations over military action.

The polling was conducted between 13 and 16 June, drew from 1,512 respondents from the US, and has a margin of error of three percent.

The poll lands at a critical moment, as President Donald Trump weighs whether to join Israeli strikes on Iran, which began on Friday. The White House has framed the escalation as an effort to prevent Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

On Tuesday, Trump used his Truth Social platform to escalate tensions, calling for Iran's "unconditional surrender" and threatening Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, stating: "We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now."

The war has also exposed cracks within Trump's Make America Great Again (MAGA) coalition.

When asked whether he had seen that his Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, said in March that Iran was not seeking a nuclear bomb, Trump responded bluntly: "I don't care what she said. I think they were very close to having a weapon."

Conservative figures outside the administration are also deeply divided. Tucker Carlson clashed with Senator Ted Cruz on his show over Cruz's support for joining the strikes.

"You're a senator who’s calling for the overthrow of the government, and you don’t know anything about the country," Carlson said. Cruz shot back: "No, you don’t know anything about the country."

Steve Bannon, a former Trump strategist, warned that military intervention could fracture the MAGA base and derail Trump’s domestic priorities, including mass deportations.

"If we get sucked into this war, which inexorably looks like it's going to happen, it’s going to blow up the coalition and thwart the most important thing - deporting illegal alien invaders," he said.

Others, like Senator Lindsey Graham, have pushed for full escalation. Speaking on Fox News, Graham said he would "help Israel finish the job".

Meanwhile, the US continues to deploy military assets to the region. According to Reuters, squadrons of F-16s, F-22s, and F-35s have been sent to Middle Eastern bases, along with more than a dozen KC-135R and KC-46A aerial refuelling aircraft.

The Pentagon has also redirected the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier to the region, where it will join the USS Carl Vinson for an extended presence.