This month, YouGov conducted several new polls about Iran, including a four-question survey on January 12 and a longer poll January 12 - 14. We found that majorities of Americans view Iran as unfriendly or an enemy and have an unfavorable view of the country's government, but many have warmer views of Iran's people and support the country's protesters. A majority of Americans would not support a U.S. invasion of Iran, and there is also little support for more limited uses of military force in the country. Most Americans say that the president should seek congressional approval before any use of force. A majority of Americans would support giving humanitarian support if Iranians try to overthrow the country's leader, while opinions are divided about whether to provide them with military support. (A more-recent Economist/YouGov Poll found similar results about American opinion on several topics related to Iran.)
Most Americans view the Iranian government negatively, but opinions about the Iranian people are more favorable
Most Americans do not think Iran has a friendly relationship with the United States: 36% of Americans say that Iran is an enemy of the U.S. and a further 31% say it is unfriendly. Only 5% of Americans say Iran is friendly with, or an ally of, the U.S.
Majorities of Democrats (69%), Independents (57%), and Republicans (76%) say that Iran is unfriendly or an enemy of the U.S. Republicans are much more likely than the other two groups to say that Iran is an enemy rather than just unfriendly: 52% of Republicans say this, compared to 28% of Democrats and the same proportion of Independents.
Americans also generally express negative views about Iran's government. Most Americans (70%) say they have a somewhat or very unfavorable opinion of Iran's government, while only 3% say they have a favorable opinion. But many Americans have very different attitudes towards Iran's people. Half (50%) of Americans have a favorable opinion of the Iranian people, while only 18% have an unfavorable opinion. And nearly half (47%) have a favorable opinion of Iranian protesters, compared to 19% who view them unfavorably.
This gap in attitudes towards Iran's government and its people exists across Democrats, Independents, and Republicans. Majorities of all three groups have an unfavorable opinion of Iran's government, while 3% or less of each group have a favorable opinion. In contrast, the Iranian people and Iranian protesters are viewed more favorably than unfavorably by Democrats, Independents, and Republicans. Republicans are more likely to express unfavorable opinions of Iranian people and protesters than are Democrats or Independents — about one-third of Republicans for each Iranian group compared to 15% or less of Democrats and Independents — but unfavorable attitudes toward the Iranian people and protesters are the minority view among all three groups.
This difference in opinion is reflected in evaluations of recent protests. Americans are much more likely to say they side with Iranian protesters than to say they side with the Iranian government (48% vs. 3%). This is true regardless of partisanship. About half of Democrats, Independents, and Republicans say they side more with Iranian protesters, while 3% or less of each group sides more with the country's government.
Few Americans support military action in Iran
A majority (57%) of Americans would somewhat or strongly oppose the U.S. using military force to invade Iran. Only 21% would support a U.S. invasion. Democrats are most strongly opposed to such an invasion (80% vs. 5% who would support it). A majority of Independents are also opposed (57% vs. 14%). Republicans lean slightly toward support: 45% would support an invasion, while 36% would oppose it.
Americans are a little more amenable to the idea of using U.S. military force to overthrow Iran's leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. One-quarter (26%) of Americans would support such a use of force, while a little less than half (45%) oppose it.
About half (51%) of Republicans would support the U.S. using military force to overthrow Ayatollah Khamenei, while only 23% oppose the idea. In contrast, Independents are less likely to support than to oppose this use of force (19% vs. 45%). Most Democrats (69%) oppose the idea.
Support for U.S. military action in response to the killing of protesters in Iran is only slightly higher: 29% of Americans would support U.S. military action in this situation, while 44% would oppose it. Democrats and Independents are more likely to oppose such action than to support it. About half (51%) of Republicans would support action in response to the killing of protesters, while 24% would oppose it.
About two-thirds (65%) of Americans say that President Donald Trump should seek authorization from Congress before using military force in Iran. That's a much larger share than would support the use of military force in any of the scenarios listed above. Only 16% of Americans say Trump should not seek congressional authorization if he wants to pursue military action in Iran.
Large majorities of Democrats (88%) and Independents (67%) say that Trump should seek congressional authorization before using military force in Iran. Republicans are more divided, though more still say that Trump should seek authorization than say that he shouldn't (41% vs. 33%). Before the capture of Nicolás Maduro, the YouGov/Economist Poll showed that a similar share of Americans thought that Trump should seek congressional authorization before using military force in Venezuela.
A majority of Americans would support giving humanitarian aid to Iranian revolutionaries. Views on military aid are divided
If Iranians try to overthrow Ayatollah Khamenei as the country's leader, a majority (56%) of Americans would support offering humanitarian aid to those attempting to overthrow him, while only 16% would oppose offering humanitarian aid. Americans are more divided over whether the U.S. should provide military aid to such a cause: 37% would support providing U.S. military aid, while 31% would oppose it. Though that support falls far short of a majority, this is the only situation asked about in our recent Iran polls where more Americans would support U.S. military involvement in Iran than would oppose it.
Majorities of Democrats (61%) and Republicans (62%) support providing U.S. humanitarian aid if Iranians try to overthrow Khamenei. About half (48%) of Independents say the same. Only 16% or 17% of each group would oppose offering humanitarian aid. There is a larger divide between Democrats, Independents, and Republicans on military aid for an overthrow attempt. Democrats are less likely to support than oppose offering military aid to Iranians trying to overthrow Khamenei (26% vs. 41%). Independents are about evenly split (29% vs. 31%). Republicans are far more supportive of military aid: A majority (56%) would support providing it, while only 21% oppose it.
— Taylor Orth and Carl Bialik contributed to this article
Related articles:
- Few Democrats and most Republicans support military action in Iran
- Do Americans think the bombing of Iran and other U.S. foreign military interventions were the right decisions?
- Which Americans support and oppose bombing Iran?
- Snap polls: More Americans oppose than support the U.S. bombing of Iran
- Most Americans approve of women-led protests in Iran
Methodology:
The Daily Questions survey was conducted online on January 12, 2026, among 3,299 U.S. adults. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, U.S. census region, and political party. The margin of error for the survey is approximately 2 points.
See the results of this poll:
- Do you approve or disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling Iran?
- Who do you side with more in recent conflicts between the two?
- Would you support or oppose the U.S. taking military action in Iran in response to the killing of Iranian protestors?
- If President Trump wants to use military force in Iran, should he first seek authorization from the U.S. Congress?
Another survey was conducted online on January 12 - 14, 2026, among 1,121 U.S. adult citizens. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel to be representative of adult U.S. citizens. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, region, 2024 presidential vote, 2020 election turnout and presidential vote, baseline party identification, and current voter registration status. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. 2024 presidential vote, at time of weighting, was estimated to be 48% Harris and 50% Trump. Baseline party identification is the respondent’s most recent answer given around November 8, 2024, and is weighted to the estimated distribution at that time (31% Democratic, 32% Republican). The margin of error for the overall sample is approximately 4 points.
Image: Getty (Apu Gomes)
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