The findings of two new national polls conducted in the hours after President Donald Trump launched strikes on Iran are clear — only a minority of Americans approve of the operation and Democrats and Republicans don’t see eye to eye over the attacks.
Twenty-seven percent of those questioned in a Reuters/Ipsos national survey conducted Saturday and Sunday after the start of ‘Operation Epic Fury’ by American and Israeli forces on Iran that resulted in the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said they approved of the strikes.
A plurality, 43%, said they disapproved, with nearly three in 10 not sure.
There were similar findings in a CNN poll conducted by SSRS that was also in the field this past weekend.
Fifty-nine percent of Americans surveyed in the poll said they disapproved of the initial decision to strike Iran, with 41% giving a thumbs up.
As expected, there’s a wide divide between Democrats and Republicans.
Republicans questioned in the Reuters/Ipsos poll, by a 55%-32% margin, were supportive of the military action. The vast majority of Democrats, 73%, disapproved of the strikes, with only 7% saying they approved. A plurality of independents, 44%, disapproved of the military attack, with 19% supportive and nearly four in 10 unsure.
The partisan gap was even wider in the CNN poll.
More than three-quarters of Republican respondents, 77%, approved, compared to 32% of independents and 18% of Democrats.
According to the CNN poll, 83% of Republicans said Trump has a clear plan for handling the attacks on Iran, while 70% of independents and 88% of Democrats disagreed.
Overall, six in 10 said they don’t think the president has a clear plan for dealing with the situation, and 62% said Trump should get congressional approval before any further military action.
Both polls were conducted before the U.S. military announced on Sunday the first U.S. casualties in the operation — six service members killed.
The joint U.S.-Israeli assault on Iran is now in its fourth day as of Tuesday, with Trump saying the plan is ahead of schedule thanks to the early elimination of Iran’s top leaders.
Trump has said Iran is seeking talks with the U.S. as the military operations continue, but the president indicated he believes the opportunity for negotiations has passed.
The U.S. has urged Americans to leave 14 countries across the Middle East as Iran’s counterattacks intensify. The U.S. State Department has also closed embassies in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, the Gulf Cooperation Council warned Iran it will take ‘all necessary measures,’ including possible military action, in response to Tehran’s missile and drone attacks.