The Iran Conflict
Concern about armed conflict tends to track with geographic proximity. The closer people are to a war, the more worried they tend to be. We see this in Europe, where the countries closest to Ukraine are consistently the most concerned about what’s happening there.
This war could be different. The main effect may not be driven primarily by casualties, humanitarian concerns, or military escalation. Instead, the impact may come through the economy and people’s everyday experience of it. Even those far from the conflict will be pulled into it if these economic effects begin to affect their daily lives.
In some ways the pattern resembles what happened with COVID. That crisis began as a health issue but quickly became something people experienced personally as it disrupted both the economy and everyday lives. This conflict may follow a similar path as its effects feed into household budgets and consumer behaviour.
Here we share the latest Ipsos research from around the world. We hope it can serve as a useful guide to where public sentiment is right now - and where it may be heading.
The view from ...
🇺🇸 United States 🇨🇦 Canada 🇫🇷 France 🇮🇹 Italy 🇳🇱 Netherlands
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
United States: Presidential Approval Latest
24.03.26: We’re seeing a slight downtick in President Trump’s approval ratings in the U.S. This latest Reuters/Ipsos Core Political poll reveals that Americans now identify the economy and foreign conflicts as the nation’s most pressing concerns.
United States: Support for U.S. troop deployment is limited
20.03.26: Just 7% would support deploying a large number of ground troops to Iran for a large-scale ground operation; a higher share (34%) would support the deployment of a small number of special forces for targeted operations. A majority of Americans (55%) say they would not support the U.S. deploying any troops inside Iran. The survey also finds that Americans continue to be keenly aware of the impact the conflict is having on gas prices. Nearly nine-in-ten (87%) expect gas prices to continue to rise in the next month and a majority report that rising gas prices have impacted their households’ finances.
United States: U.S. military action in Iran remains unpopular as 53% expect negative personal financial impacts
16.03.26: An Ipsos poll conducted March 13–15 finds Americans continue to hold negative views of U.S. military strikes against Iran, with disapproval of the strikes significantly outweighing approval. Americans’ concerns about the U.S. military engagement range from risks to American service members’ lives to the conflict’s impact on Americans’ personal finances.Overall, 58% say they disapprove of U.S. military strikes against Iran, compared with 38% who say they approve. This negative balance of opinion is broadly consistent with previous Ipsos and Reuters/Ipsos surveys.
Canada: 6 in 10 Canadians disapprove of US military strike against Iran
13.03.26: Ipsos polling for Global News reveals Canadian disapproval (61%) of the US military action against Iran, with 42% strongly disapproving. Only one in four (23%) approve (8% strongly/15% somewhat), while 16% are unsure either way. Concerns about potential Canadian involvement are high, with 66% expressing fear that Canada will be pulled into this war and the lives of our soldiers will be at risk. Notably, just 32% think the war in Iran will be over in a couple of months, with more (41%) disagreeing and a substantial portion (28%) who aren't sure either way.
France: A small majority of French people approve of the actions carried out by France since the beginning of the conflict
13.03.26: Ipsos bva and its partner CESI Engineering School have recently revealed the results of a new survey “The French and the conflict in Iran”. Faced with the conflict in Iran, a majority of French fear an increase in inflation (88%) and fuel prices (86%). While the action of France since the beginning of the conflict is approved by a small majority of French people (53%), French opinion is evenly split when it comes to attitudes to deploying the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle: 49% support such a move, while 50% oppose. The survey finds 79% expressing a fear that the conflict will spread spread beyond the Middle East.
Italy: A majority of Italian citizens say they are concerned about the escalation of the Iran war
09.03.26: 35% of Italians fear an escalation of the conflict, followed by concerns over the economic consequences (21%); the risk of terrorist attacks in Europe (19%); and humanitarian consequences (15%).
Netherlands: On balance, Dutch are critical of attacks on Iran
12.03.26: Public opinion in the Netherlands tends to be critical of the US and Israeli strikes on Iran. Four in ten (39%) consider the attacks a bad thing, compared with 21% who view them positively. A significant share remains neutral (25%) or undecided (15%). Political preferences play a clear role: support for the attacks is higher among voters of right-wing conservative parties (especially SGP, JA21 and PVV), while voters of left-leaning and progressive parties (GL-PvdA, PvdD, SP, D66) are more likely to oppose the attacks.
Q: Do you think it is a good or a bad thing that the US and Israel have carried out attacks in Iran?
United Kingdom: Public concern about defence and foreign affairs doubles in wake of Iran conflict
18.03.26: The March 2026 edition of the long-running Ipsos in the UK Issues Index reveals a sharp increase in public concern about defence and foreign affairs. Thirty-one per cent mention it as a big issue for Britain, double the score of 15% it reached in February. This is the highest level of concern on the issue since March 2022 in the immediate aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (35%). Fieldwork was conducted between 4 and 10 March, following the outbreak of war between Iran, the US and Israel.
United Kingdom: Over 8 in 10 Britons concerned about impact of Iran conflict on fuel/energy prices as belief in the special relationship falls
16.03.26: Over eight in ten Britons express concern about the impact of the US/Israel-Iran conflict on the UK economy (83%), and specifically the price of fuel/energy (84%, with 49% very concerned). This is slightly higher than the level of concern over the economic impact of the conflict between Israel and Iran in June 2025, and in line with levels of concern at the start of the Ukraine conflict in 2022.
