Washington — As the United States and Iran head to their next round Nuclear talks in GenevaA new AP-NORC poll shows that many American adults still view Iran’s nuclear program as a threat — but they also have little confidence in President Donald Trump’s judgment on the use of military force abroad.
A new poll conducted in the United States showed that about half of American adults feel “very” or “extremely” concerned that the Iranian nuclear program poses a direct threat to the United States. The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. About 3 in 10 are “moderately” anxious and about 2 in 10 are “not very” or “not at all” anxious.
The survey was conducted from February 19 to 23 Rising military tensions in the Middle East Between the United States and Iran. The United States is seeking to reach an agreement to limit Iran’s nuclear program and ensure that it does not develop nuclear weapons, while Iran says it does not seek to manufacture weapons and has so far resisted demands to stop uranium enrichment on its soil or hand over its stock of highly enriched uranium.
Trump, who canceled a previous nuclear agreement with Iran during his first term, has repeatedly threatened to use force to force Iran to agree. To restrict its atomic programmeWhich Trump claimed he “obliterated” following the 12-day war last June The United States bombed Iranian nuclear sites. Iran said it would respond with an attack of its own. Trump also threatened Iran Killing demonstrators. Both countries have it They indicated that they were ready for war If talks on Tehran’s nuclear program and the United States fail It gathered its largest military force In the Middle East for decades with escalating tensions with Iran.
Most Americans, 61%, say that Iran is an “enemy” of the United States, which is a slightly higher percentage than the previous percentage Pearson Institute/AP-NORC Poll It was conducted in September 2023. But their confidence in the president’s judgment when it comes to relations with adversaries and the use of military force abroad is low, the new poll shows, with only about 3 in 10 Americans saying they have “a lot” or “very little” confidence in Trump.
Even some Republicans – especially younger Republicans – have reservations about Trump’s ability to make the right choices on these high-stakes issues.
This year, the Trump administration held two rounds of nuclear talks with Iran, mediated by Oman, and the third round is scheduled to begin on Thursday. Similar talks that took place last year between the United States and Iran regarding the Iranian nuclear program collapsed after Israel launched what later became a nuclear program. The 12 Day War in June.
“We are in negotiations with them,” Trump said. During his State of the Union address Tuesday evening, after the poll was conducted. “They want to make a deal, but we haven’t heard those secret words: We will never have a nuclear weapon.”
The AP-NORC poll found that Americans have significant reservations about Trump’s judgment on foreign conflicts. Only about 3 in 10 American adults have “a great deal” or “a fair amount” of confidence in Trump’s judgment on the use of military force, relations with US adversaries, or the use of nuclear weapons. More than half of them trust him “a little” or “do not trust him at all.”
In any case, Republicans are more likely than Democrats and independents to trust that the president will make the right decisions. About 6 in 10 Republicans have a high level of trust in Trump, while nearly 9 in 10 Democrats have a low level of trust in him.
But the confidence of some Republicans is more qualified. Younger Republicans — those under 45 — are less likely than older Republicans to say they trust Trump “a great deal” or “a little” regarding his use of military force. About half of younger Republicans say this, compared with about two-thirds of older Republicans.
The new finding that 48% of American adults are “very” or “extremely” concerned that Iran’s nuclear program poses a direct threat to their country is in line with a July 2025 AP-NORC poll, suggesting that even with the recent escalation between the two countries, Americans have not changed their views.
Before the June war, so was Iran Uranium enrichment up to 60% purity A short technical step away from weapon levels. The United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency said that Iran is the only country in the world that has enriched to this level and was not armed with a nuclear bomb.
Iran rejects the International Atomic Energy Agency’s requests to inspect sites bombed in the June war, raising concerns among nuclear non-proliferation experts.
Concerns about Iran’s nuclear program cross party lines in the United States, although Republicans are now more concerned. Most Republicans — 56% — say they are “extremely” or “very” concerned about Iran’s nuclear program, compared with 44% of Democrats.
In general, Americans hold a negative view of Iran, but the view is sharper among older Americans.
About 6 in 10 American adults say Iran is an “enemy” of the United States, up slightly from 53% from the 2023 Pearson/AP-NORC poll. Nearly 3 in 10 say the two countries are “not friends, but not enemies,” and only about 1 in 10 Americans consider the two countries “friends” or “close allies.”
Meanwhile, about half of American adults under 45 say Iran is an enemy, compared with about 7 in 10 Americans aged 45 or older. There is also a wide generational gap in concern about Iran’s nuclear program, with only about a third of Americans under the age of 45 saying they are very concerned, compared with about 6 in 10 older Americans.
Tensions over Iran’s nuclear program may It’s been around for decadeswhich may help explain why older Americans are so concerned. Nuclear talks have faltered for years after Trump’s decision in 2018 to unilaterally withdraw the United States. From the 2015 Iranian nuclear agreement With world powers.
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Liechtenstein reported from Vienna. AP correspondent Jon Gambrell in Dubai contributed to this report.
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The AP-NORC poll of 1,133 adults was conducted Feb. 19-23 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 4.0 percentage points.
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The Associated Press receives support for its nuclear security coverage from Carnegie Corporation of New York and Overseas Foundation. AP is solely responsible for all content.
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Additional AP coverage of the nuclear landscape: https://apnews.com/projects/the-new-nuclear-landscape/