Public Opinion in Iran
| Date | February 20, 2009 |
| Location | US Capitol Building, Room HC-6 |
Security for a New Century was pleased to host Dr Steven Kull, Director of WorldPublicOpinion.org and the Program on International Policy Attitudes to discuss recent polling of public opinion in Iran. The results were revealing, informative and often surprising.
Iranian public opinion continues to be largely negative towards the US. In comparison with views on a variety of other countries, such as the UK, China, France and Russia, the US fared worst. The primary reasons behind these views was the perception that the US wanted to control oil resources in the region and was pursuing an agenda designed to weaken Islam and the Islamic world. A majority of those polled felt that a lot of what happened across the globe was ‘controlled’ by the US.
However, beneath these generally negative views were important caveats. The most recent polling suggests that negative opinions towards the US are at a lower level than when similar polling was carried out in 2006. Also, less people than in 2006 felt that a US invasion of Iran was imminent. Dr Kull suggested that this apparent ‘thawing’ of perceptions of the US may be due to the most recent National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iran’s nuclear capability which suggested Iran had ceased work on its nuclear program and urged negotiations with the country.
Iranians were often at pains to emphasize that their negative perceptions of the US were towards the US Government specifically. Views of the American people were significantly more positive. This may lie behind the findings that the majority of Iranians were in favor of closer informal relations between the two countries, such as sporting events, increased tourism and academic exchanges. Despite the negative perceptions of the US Government, most Iranians were in favor of inter-governmental talks between the two nations on issues of mutual concern, most notably regarding the situation in Iraq.
On the crucial issue of Iran’s nuclear program, polling found a clear and substantial majority in favor of Iran having a nuclear power capability. However, most of those polled were firmly against Iran having nuclear weapons. The primary reason for the latter standpoint was that nuclear weapons contradicted the principles of Islam. This belief also appeared to influence the majority held view that Iran should join the Non-Proliferation Treaty and also that the world should work towards eliminating nuclear weapons altogether.
As with perceptions of the US, however, Iranians views on nuclear are complex. Despite the overall view that Iran should not have nuclear weapons and should work towards ridding the world of them, there was a strong feeling that other nations across the world were developing nuclear weapons and, as such, Iran required the capability to develop nuclear weapons of its own in order to maintain the nation’s security.
When asked about Iran’s role in the wider region, a significant minority expressed an opinion that regional dominance should be Iran’s aim. However, over half of those polled preferred co-operative relations with Iran’s neighbors. This desire for co-operation in the international arena extended to the United Nations (UN). Perceptions of the UN were largely positive, although there were concerns that the organization was dominated by the US. Nevertheless, most felt that the UN should be strengthened and allowed to play a larger role in international affairs.
Returning to domestic issues, the polling found high levels of trust both in the Iranian Government as a whole and also in President Ahmadinejad. In both cases, trust in Government and leading politicians is considerably higher than usually found in western countries. As well as general support for Ahmadinejad on domestic issues, the polling found most Iranians backed his approach to foreign policy.
Pollsters also posed broader questions on democracy and democratic principles. The response was largely supportive of democracy as a system and also the premise that a Government should largely reflect the will of the people. When asked for their views on related democratic principles such as human rights, freedom of the press and gender equality, most Iranians again expressed their support. These positive views were most pronounced amongst young Iranians. While overall young Iranians were negative towards the US and supportive of the Iranian government, these sentiments were not as strong as among older generations.
The full report can be found via the link below:
http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/pdf/apr08/Iran_Apr08_rpt.pdf
This briefing is the eighth in an ongoing series on the US and Iran that Security for a New Century has developed in partnership with the US Institute of Peace. The series aims to explore a wide range of political, economic, social and cultural issues which influence US - Iranian relations.
"Security for a New Century" is a bipartisan study group for Congress. We meet regularly with U.S. and international policy professionals to discuss the post-Cold War and post-9/11 security environment. All discussions are off-the-record. It is not an advocacy venue. Please call (202) 223-5956 for more information.