Poll: Majority of Americans don't want Israel to attack Iran
A majority of Americans do not want Israel to attack Iranian nuclear facilities, and believe that Iran could rebuild its nuclear program in less than five years if it were attacked, according to a new University of Maryland poll.
Iran says its nuclear program is purely for peaceful purposes, but suspicion over what Iran is doing has stirred debate about launching an attack. The U.S. says it will stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, but Israeli officials say a military strike would be justified if Iran is seen to be gaining the capability to make them. To gauge how Americans felt about an attack, more than 700 people were polled about whether they believed that Israel should strike Iran to stop its nuclear program. Only 1 in 4 favored the idea. “Americans think a military strike against Iran’s nuclear program is not likely to produce much benefit or to be low in cost,” the University of Maryland Anwar Sadat Chair and the Program on International Policy Attitudes found. “Less than half believe that a strike would weaken the Iranian government.” Less than 1 in 5 polled thought that an Israeli strike would delay Iran from developing nuclear capabilities for more than five years. Only 1 in 7 thought the U.S. should encourage Israel to strike. Instead, 69% of the Americans who were polled said the U.S. should continue to pursue negotiations with Iran, with a large majority saying it should act primarily through the United Nations Security Council.
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Russia Today: US Iran ultimatum: Yield now or be attacked by year’s end - VideoThe US wants Russia to deliver a message to Iran: Tehran has one last chance for talks. If it is wasted, an attack will happen in a matter of months, according to Russian diplomatic sources. The threat was voiced by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during a meeting with her Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in New York on Monday, a diplomatic insider told Kommersant daily. “The invasion will happen before year’s end. The Israelis are de facto blackmailing Obama. They’ve put him in this interesting position – either he supports the war or looses the support of the Jewish lobby,” the diplomat told the Russian newspaper.
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