6 in 10 say military action against Iran not worth it: Survey

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The signing of a memorandum of understanding last week between the U.S. and Iran signaled a positive step toward negotiations to end this months-long conflict. A majority of Americans in a new survey released Wednesday said the terms of this framework agreement did not justify these U.S. military operations.

The Quinnipiac University poll found that 60 percent of U.S. voters, including 93 percent of Democrats and 75 percent of Republicans, said this fight was not “worth it.”

Additionally, only a small percentage of voters — 11 percent overall — expressed confidence this framework agreement will hold, and 45 percent said the U.S. is now in a “weaker” international position than it was before this conflict.

The memorandum includes provisions to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil trading corridor, and initiate a 60-day negotiation period for a new Iranian nuclear agreement.

However, the agreement’s longevity has been threatened by Israeli strikes on an Iran-backed militia in Lebanon, with Tehran’s top military command threatening to close the strait again over these attacks.

The first round of technical talks between the U.S. and Iran proceeded as planned this past weekend in Switzerland. Mediators from Pakistan and Qatar reported “encouraging progress” following these talks.

The war has grown increasingly unpopular as the strait’s closure pushed up global energy prices, with the average cost of standard gas in the U.S. spiking above $4 a gallon at the end of March. President Trump’s approval rating has taken a hit as a result of these rising costs, and he announced on Wednesday that he had directed the Justice Department to investigate alleged gas price gouging.

Several Republican lawmakers have also begun to break with the administration on this conflict. Four GOP lawmakers each in the House and Senate crossed party lines to support a war powers resolution this month to urge the White House to remove U.S. troops from this conflict.

The Quinnipiac poll surveyed a total of 1,165 self-identified registered U.S. voters between June 18-22 with a margin of error of approximately 3.4 percentage points.

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