Most Americans Fear a Nuclear-Capable Iran

(CN) – Across political party lines, most voters are growing increasingly alarmed at the prospect of Iran obtaining nuclear weapons technology, according to a poll released Monday.

After President Donald Trump walked away last year from the landmark 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, world leaders have sought to replace the pact with a new agreement. The U.S. has also levied heavy sanctions on Iran over its lack of cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

A Hill-HarrisX poll released Monday found 84% of voters in the U.S. are concerned that the political tension could push Iran to accelerate production of nuclear weapons.

The figure eclipses the percentage of voters who expressed concern over other U.S. foreign policy issues, including Trump’s trade war with China, U.S. election security, and Turkey’s military operation in Syria this month.

Overall, 79% of voters said they are concerned about North Korea’s use of ballistic missiles and its development of a nuclear weapons program.

Among Democratic voters, 89% said they are either “very or somewhat concerned” about Iran obtaining nuclear weapons, while 85% of Republican voters and 79% of independents said the same.

Iran shot down a U.S. military drone this past summer, prompting U.S. officials to deploy troops and aircraft to the region. The Trump administration has also accused Iran of orchestrating attacks on oil tankers.

Iranian officials have said the country’s nuclear program – which includes development of uranium enrichment devices – is not part of an operation to construct a weapon.

The poll, conducted Oct. 21-22, surveyed 1,001 registered voters and has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.

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