More voters in the U.S. say they think Iran poses a real risk to national security, according to results of a new survey.
The poll, shared Wednesday by Fox News, shows that 73 percent of respondents believe Iran poses a real threat, while 24 percent said the opposite. Another 3 percent admitted they “don’t know.”
Broken down by party, Republicans were slightly more likely to say Tehran is a threat to the U.S. Around 82 percent of GOP voters, 69 percent of Democrats and 62 percent of independents shared that belief, according to the survey.
On the opposite side, 17 percent of Republicans brushed off the threat along with 26 percent of Democrats and 36 percent of independents. Collectively, about 8 percent said they “don’t know.”
The results come as back-and-forth strikes between Israel and Iran continued into a seventh day. Conflict in the region was heightened a week ago after the Israeli military struck nuclear facilities near Tehran, killing several top leaders and scientists.
President Trump has hinted in recent days that the U.S. could launch its own attack on Iran — but reiterated on Thursday that the administration is still mulling the idea. His comments came after reporting from the Wall Street Journal suggested the president had already approved attack plans on the Islamic republic.
Trump on Wednesday dodged a question around the topic saying, “I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do.”
Asked in the survey whether they believed Israel’s strikes against Iran’s nuclear capabilities would make the world “safer” or “more dangerous,” around 36 percent agreed with the first statement. Another 59 percent said the latter and 5 percent said they “don’t know,” according to the survey.
Once again, Republican respondents were more likely to agree that the strikes would make things safer in the Middle East. Nearly 60 percent of GOP voters sided with that view while 21 percent of Democrats and 22 percent of independents did the same.
Nearly three-quarters of Democrats said Israel’s strike on Iran made tensions in the region “more dangerous,” along with 36 percent of Republicans and 77 percent of independents. Around 13 percent across the board said they were unsure, the poll found.
Respondents were also more hesitant when asked if the U.S. should provide financial assistance to Israel amid the growing conflict.
Overall, 22 percent said they “strongly favor” sending funds to the U.S. ally, while 31 percent said they “somewhat favor” the idea. Another 23 percent said they “somewhat oppose” sending funds and 20 percent said they “strongly opposite” it. Just 3 percent said they “don’t know,” the data shows.
The Fox News survey was conducted from June 13-16 among 1,003 registered voters in the U.S. and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
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