U.S. Military Action Against Iran: Over Half Of Voters Oppose It, 74% Oppose Sending Ground Troops Into Iran, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Vast Majority Expects The Conflict To Last Months Or More

Over a week after the United States and Israel first launched military strikes against Iran, a majority of voters oppose the U.S. military action, do not want to see U.S. ground troops sent into Iran, and do not expect a quick end to the conflict. Although voters are divided about whether the killings of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Iranian leaders were justified, more than three-quarters think it is likely that the U.S. military action against Iran will result in a terrorist attack on U.S. soil and a similar percent are concerned about oil and gasoline prices rising, according to a Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pea-ack) University national poll of registered voters released today.

U.S. MILITARY ACTION

Fifty-three percent of voters oppose the U.S. military action against Iran, while 40 percent support it.

Democrats (89 - 7 percent) and independents (60 - 31 percent) oppose the U.S. military action against Iran, while Republicans (85 - 11 percent) support it.

Seventy-four percent of voters oppose sending U.S. ground troops into Iran, while 20 percent support it.

Democrats (95 - 3 percent), independents (75 - 19 percent), and Republicans (52 - 37 percent) oppose sending U.S. ground troops into Iran.

"Voters are unenthusiastic about the air attack on Iran and there is overwhelming opposition to putting American troops on Iranian soil to fight a ground war," said Quinnipiac University Polling Analyst Tim Malloy.

THREAT FROM IRAN

A majority of voters (55 percent) do not think Iran posed an imminent military threat to the United States before the current U.S. military action against Iran, while 39 percent think Iran posed an imminent military threat to the United States before the current U.S. military action against Iran.

Democrats (83 - 12 percent) and independents (63 - 31 percent) do not think Iran posed an imminent military threat to the United States before the current U.S. military action against Iran, while Republicans (74 - 23 percent) think Iran posed an imminent military threat to the United States before the current U.S. military action against Iran.

Seventy-seven percent of voters think it is either very likely (33 percent) or somewhat likely (44 percent) that there will be a terrorist attack on U.S. soil in response to the U.S. military action against Iran, while 19 percent think it is either not so likely (12 percent) or not likely at all (7 percent).

EXPLANATION FOR MILITARY ACTION

Sixty-two percent of voters think the Trump administration has not provided a clear explanation of the reasons behind the United States' military action against Iran, while 35 percent think the Trump administration has provided a clear explanation.

Democrats (93 - 5 percent) and independents (71 - 27 percent) think the Trump administration has not provided a clear explanation of the reasons behind the United States' military action against Iran, while Republicans (75 - 22 percent) think the Trump administration has provided a clear explanation.

Fifty-nine percent of voters think President Trump should have received approval from Congress before taking military action against Iran, while 38 percent do not think President Trump should have received approval from Congress before taking military action against Iran.

PRESIDENT TRUMP

Thirty-seven percent of voters approve of the way Donald Trump is handling his job as president, while 57 percent disapprove, essentially unchanged from Quinnipiac University's February 4, 2026 poll.

In today's poll, voters were asked about Trump's handling of:

• his job as Commander in Chief of the U.S. military: 42 percent approve, while 55 percent disapprove;
• foreign policy: 40 percent approve, while 57 percent disapprove;
• the economy: 39 percent approve, while 58 percent disapprove;
• the situation with Iran: 38 percent approve, while 57 percent disapprove.

The 58 percent disapproval for Trump's handling of the economy is the highest disapproval he has ever received for his handling of the economy. The previous high was 57 percent, most recently in Quinnipiac University's December 17, 2025 poll.

RUBIO & HEGSETH

Forty percent of voters approve of the way Marco Rubio is handling his job as Secretary of State, while 47 percent disapprove, with 13 percent not offering an opinion.

Thirty-seven percent of voters approve of the way Pete Hegseth is handling his job as Secretary of Defense, while 52 percent disapprove, with 11 percent not offering an opinion.

KILLING OF IRANIAN LEADERS

Forty-eight percent of voters think the killings of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and more than 40 other Iranian leaders in the joint U.S./Israel military action against Iran were justified, while 43 percent think the killings were not justified.

WHAT'S NEXT FOR IRAN

Asked to give their best guess about how much longer voters think the U.S. military action against Iran will last, 3 percent think days, 18 percent think weeks, 32 percent think months, 13 percent think about a year, and 26 percent think longer than that.

"How long will it last? Not days, not weeks, but months, maybe longer. Perhaps compelled by memories of long wars, Americans see no early end to the enormous upheaval in the Middle East," added Malloy.

Forty-four percent of voters think it is either very likely (12 percent) or somewhat likely (32 percent) that Iran will form a new government that is favorable to the United States, while 49 percent think it is either not so likely (24 percent) or not likely at all (25 percent) that Iran will form a new government that is favorable to the United States.

OIL & GAS PRICES

More than 7 in 10 voters (74 percent) are either very concerned (49 percent) or somewhat concerned (25 percent) that the U.S. military action against Iran will cause oil and gasoline prices to rise in the United States, while 25 percent are either not so concerned (13 percent) or not concerned at all (12 percent).

"Voters know the score: pain at the pump is inevitable. When about 20 percent of the world's oil flows through a region torn apart by conflict, it will eventually hit home at the local filling station," added Malloy.

U.S. SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL

When it comes to the relationship between the United States and Israel, 44 percent of voters think the U.S. is too supportive of Israel, while 5 percent think the U.S. is not supportive enough of Israel, and 44 percent think the U.S. support of Israel is about right.

This is the highest percentage of voters thinking that the U.S. is too supportive of Israel since Quinnipiac University first asked this question of registered voters in 2017. The previous high was in Quinnipiac University's June 25, 2025 poll when 42 percent of voters thought the U.S. was too supportive of Israel, 45 percent thought the U.S. support of Israel was about right, and 5 percent thought the U.S. was not supportive enough of Israel.

1,002 self-identified registered voters nationwide were surveyed from March 6th - 8th with a margin of error of +/- 3.8 percentage points, including the design effect.

The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Doug Schwartz, Ph.D. since 1994, conducts independent, non-partisan national and state polls on politics and issues. Surveys adhere to industry best practices and are based on probability-based samples using random digit dialing with live interviewers calling landlines and cell phones.

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