Global attitudes to the war in Iran

Key findings:

• 81% on average across 31 countries think their country should avoid getting involved in the current conflict in the Middle East.
• 71% of Americans think their country should not be involved in the Iran war and this rises to 79% for those aged 18-34 in the U.S. Israel is the only country where people are more in favour of being involved than not (58% to 43%).
• 33% think the war will last until 2027 or beyond. 31% think it will end by the end of year, 26% within three months and 10% within the next month.
• In 27 of the 29 countries surveyed in April 2026 and last autumn, the proportion who think the U.S. will have a positive impact on the world has fallen.
• On average across 31 countries a greater proportion think China (50%) will have a positive impact on the world than the U.S. (39%) over the next decade.

Attitudes to the conflict in the Middle East

On average across 31 countries 81% think their country should avoid getting involved in the Iran war, with 48% strongly agreeing their country should stay out of the conflict. Only 19% on average disagree that their country should avoid getting involved.

In 30 of the 31 countries surveyed a majority believe their country should stay out of the conflict. This includes the U.S., where 71% feel their country should avoid getting militarily involved with 44% strongly agreeing the U.S. should avoid it. Israel is the only country where a majority are in favour of the conflict. Forty-three per cent agree Israel should avoid getting militarily involved, while 58% disagree.

Expectation the war will not end any time soon

One-third (33% on average across 31 countries) predict the war will last until next year or beyond and 31% think it will end by the end of the year. People in Canada are the most likely to think the war won’t end by the end of the year or longer (76%).

Across 31 countries 10% think the war will be over within the next month and 26% think it will be over within three months. In Israel the expectation is the current conflict will be  a short one. Forty per cent think it will be over within the next month and 40% think it will end within three months.

U.S. reputation falls further

In 27 of 29 countries surveyed in April 2026 and in October last year, fewer people think the U.S. will have a positive impact on world affairs in the coming decade. Brazil has seen a very slight increase (+1 percentage point to 56%) since last autumn, but the proportion of Brazilians having a positive view of America is down 17pp compared to October 2024, prior to U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term in office. Canada was the other country to not see its proportion who think the U.S. will have a positive impact fall since last October. However, Canadians are much less likely to view the U.S. positively than before Trump’s return to the Oval Office in 2025. We have been tracking attitudes to the U.S.’s impact on the world annually since 2015 and this year’s positive score, along with last October, is Canada’s lowest in that time.

This is the same story with other U.S. allies. Looking at the other G7 countries all have recorded the lowest figures in thinking the US will have a positive impact in the world. Only 19% in Germany currently view the U.S. positively. 

This is true even among Americans. Three in five (59%) Americans think the country will have a positive impact on world affairs. Prior to President Trump’s second term this figure had not fallen below 76%.

A greater proportion think China will have a positive impact on the world than the U.S. Half (50% on average across 31 countries) now view China positively, up from 42% (on average across 28 countries) in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. On average people across Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin American countries included in our polling are all more likely to currently feel China will do greater good than the U.S. in the next decade.