Few see U.S. goals being met in Iran yet; Americans voice worry and stress in CBS News poll

Amid talks and a ceasefire, the Iran war looks like unfinished business to many Americans. 

That’s because there are things they call important for the U.S. to do — including opening the Strait of Hormuz for oil access, ensuring the Iranian people are free and permanently stopping Iran’s nuclear programs — that they don’t feel have been done yet.

So, in describing their feelings about the conflict of late, Americans pick worry, stress and anger far more than feeling safe or confident. 

Big and bipartisan majorities feel it’s important for the U.S. to do these things:

But huge majorities say either that they aren’t done, or it’s too soon to know, including for some of those top items.

Amid talks, a majority also expresses what they don’t want to happen — that it would be unacceptable to leave the current Iranian regime in place — and also unacceptable to allow a nuclear program under international supervision.

In summary, most Americans continue to say the conflict is not going well. That view hasn’t improved in recent weeks.

And in a similar vein, if it were to end now, relatively few call the war a success so far, either in terms of military objectives or U.S. strategic interests. For many, it’s too soon to say — another indication that they aren’t seeing the goals met yet.

President Trump

And there’s uncertainty in part because most don’t think President Trump has a clear plan for it all.

That said, most Republicans think he does, and most continue to have confidence in his decisions on Iran. 

Views on this are highly partisan, but also related to whether people think the administration has explained the goals or not — which most still don’t think has happened.

Among those who don’t feel it’s clear, most think the lack of clarity comes from changing the list of goals.

When presented with the president’s full statement, a big majority of Americans said they’d already seen or read at least something about Mr. Trump’s recent Truth Social post that mentioned Iran’s civilization as his deadline approached. Most said they disliked it, at least somewhat. Non-MAGA Republicans disliked it more than liked it, too.

It gets relatively more favor  — though hardly widespread — from MAGA Republicans. They tend to say Mr. Trump’s posts involve negotiating strategy at least as much as any actual intentions. Relatively fewer MAGA Republicans say they solely reflect what the president really intended to do. 

Trump’s job ratings

Gas prices loom over Americans’ views of the economy, Mr. Trump’s handling of it, and Iran as well.

Start with Iran: Mr. Trump’s approval on it has ticked a bit lower now. Young Americans are the age group giving him the lowest marks on Iran.

He does still get strong ratings on Iran from Republicans. (Though not his strongest within the party — that issue is still immigration.)

Americans continue to note higher gas prices. Ratings of the nation’s economy remain low, and when asked what’s most shaping their views on it, gas prices are an even bigger factor than earlier this year.

That’s led to Mr. Trump’s approval numbers for the economy and inflation, as well as his overall job approval, ticking down slightly; they have been negative for months and are now at the lowest levels of this term. 

That includes a slight drop among Republicans for his handling of inflation, specifically. For context, among Republicans, that approval is 20 points lower than how they rate him on immigration.

People for whom gas prices are a financial difficulty are especially negative about the president’s handling of inflation and the economy. 

Regarding the war, Republicans do voice feelings like confident and proud, in contrast to those other more negative feelings — like worried and angry — expressed by Democrats and independents.

Congress

Looking ahead, as Congress returns, most Democrats and independents want Congress to take a vote against authorizing any further military action in Iran.

Republicans, who widely approve of the war, would prefer either to see an outright authorization vote on the war, or to simply leave decisions to Mr. Trump.

This CBS News/YouGov survey was conducted with a nationally representative sample of 2,387 U.S. adults interviewed between April 8-10, 2026. The sample was weighted to be representative of adults nationwide according to gender, age, race, and education, based on the U.S. Census American Community Survey and Current Population Survey, as well as 2024 presidential vote. The margin of error is ±2.4 points.

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