Many Americans skeptical that U.S. military action in Iran has been worth it

Washington, D.C., April 13, 2026 – A new Ipsos poll conducted April 10-12 finds that support for U.S. military action in Iran remains limited. Just 24% say that, considering both the costs and the benefits, the decision to take military action in Iran has been worth it. A larger share (51%) say it has not been worth it, while 22% are unsure.

As the U.S. moves to blockade the Strait of Hormuz and restrict Iranian oil tanker traffic, 54% say U.S. military action in Iran has had a mostly negative impact on their personal financial situation. This view is expressed by majorities of Democrats (65%) and independents (56%), as well as 40% of Republicans.

Views on the conflict’s broader impacts on the U.S. and the Middle East have held fairly steady in recent weeks and continue to tilt negative. More Americans think the quality of life for people in Iran will get worse (51%) rather than better (17%) over the next year. Views are similar regarding stability in the Middle East (52% say it will get worse; 19% say it will get better).

When asked about the long-term impact on U.S. security, 41% think military action in Iran will make U.S. security worse, compared with 26% who think it will improve security and 29% who say it will not have much impact either way.

About the Study

This Ipsos poll was conducted April 10-12, 2026, by Ipsos using the probability-based KnowledgePanel®. This poll is based on a nationally representative probability sample of 1,019 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 3.6 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 1.35. 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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