Americans think it’s likely the U.S. will send troops into Iran
Washington, D.C., March 20, 2026 – A new Reuters/Ipsos poll, conducted March 17-19, finds that 59% of Americans disapprove of U.S. military strikes against Iran, compared with fewer (37%) who approve.
As the war enters its fourth week and with the Strait of Hormuz largely blocked to shipping traffic due to attacks by Iran, most Americans now expect the U.S. to send troops into Iran.
However, public support for U.S. troop deployments is limited: 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.
Detailed findings
1. Americans continue to disapprove of the U.S. military strikes against Iran and feel that a deployment of troops is likely.
- Levels of support for U.S. military action in Iran divide sharply along partisan lines. Both Democrats (93%) and independents (63%) disapprove of U.S. strikes on Iran. By contrast, 77% of Republicans say they approve of the U.S. military strikes against Iran.
- A large majority of Americans (88%) now feel it is at least somewhat likely that the U.S. will deploy special forces in Iran over the next month. When asked about a more extensive deployment, two-thirds (65%) think it is likely that the U.S. will send troops into Iran for a large-scale ground operation in the next month.
- There is limited belief among the public that U.S. actions in Iran will make Americans safer over the long run. Just 29% say this, compared to 46% who think U.S. military action will make the country less safe and 22% who do not think it will have much impact either way.
2. Americans say rising gas prices are impacting their personal finances and expect gas prices to continue rising.
- A majority of Americans report that their household’s finances have been affected by recent increases in gas prices (55%). Most also say it is extremely or very likely that gas prices will continue to go up in the next month (62%). Far fewer think it is likely that prices of all consumer goods will go down in the next month (7%).
- Cost of living remains a top issue heading into the 2026 midterm elections. A plurality say that, if the elections were held today, the cost of living (40%) would be the most important issue in determining how they vote, followed by democratic values and norms (24%) and immigration (16%).
- While healthcare (29%) and housing (21%) remain the aspects of the cost of living that Americans most want Congress to prioritize, a rising share of Americans say gasoline prices are their top area of concern (8%), representing a five percentage-point increase over a February Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted before the war (3%).
About the Study
This Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted March 17-19, 2026, by Ipsos using the probability-based KnowledgePanel®. This poll is based on a nationally representative probability sample of 1,545 general population adults aged 18 or older.
The study was conducted in English. The data were weighted to adjust for gender by age, race and ethnicity, census region, metropolitan status, education, household income, 2024 vote choice and political party identification. Political party identification benchmarks are from the 2025 NPORS annual survey, with a midyear adjustment estimated across aggregated KnowledgePanel surveys accounting for changes in panelists’ party identification over time. The demographic benchmarks came from the 2025 March supplement of the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey (CPS).
- Gender (Male, Female) by Age (18–29, 30–44, 45-59 and 60+)
- Race/Hispanic Ethnicity (White Non-Hispanic, Black Non-Hispanic, Other, Non-Hispanic, Hispanic, 2+ Races, Non-Hispanic)
- Education (Less than High School, High School, Some College, Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree or higher)
- Census Region (Northeast, Midwest, South, West)
- Metropolitan status (Metro, non-Metro)
- Household Income (Under $25,000, $25,000-$49,999, $50,000-$74,999, $75,000-$99,999, $100,000-$149,999, $150,000+)
- 2024 Vote Choice (Trump, Harris, Another candidate, Did not vote)
- Political Party ID (Democrat, Lean Democrat, Republican, Lean Republican, Independent/Something else)
The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 2.5 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, for results based on the entire sample of adults. The margin of sampling error takes into account the design effect, which was 1.04. The margin of sampling error is higher and varies for results based on sub-samples. In our reporting of the findings, percentage points are rounded off to the nearest whole number. As a result, percentages in a given table column may total slightly higher or lower than 100%. In questions that permit multiple responses, columns may total substantially more than 100%, depending on the number of different responses offered by each respondent.
For more information on this news release, please contact:
Alec Tyson
Senior Vice President, US
Public Affairs
[email protected]
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