Poll: Few support force to deal with Iran

World opinion does not believe the use of force is the best way to halt Iran’s nuclear ambitions, according to a global poll published on Thursday.

Sixty percent of people sounded out across 25 countries believe Tehran is trying to develop nuclear weapons.

But in the soundings conducted by polling firm GlobeScan for the BBC World Service, only 11 percent of those polled favored military strikes to stop it.

“There is next to no appetite for that level of intervention,” said Doug Miller, President of GlobeScan which interviewed more than 27,000 people.

“Recent events suggest that maybe we should try something other than military force. It seems that Iraq has very much influenced people,” he said.

“People want the diplomats and not the military to get busy,” Miller told Reuters. “The findings suggest there is not a sense of immediacy. A year from now, when the same question is posed, there may be a hardening of opinion.”

On Tuesday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused the West of abusing the United Nations to try to deny Iran the right to the peaceful nuclear technology which Western states enjoy.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDecades-old march dispute reignites in Northern Ireland, threatening political crisis

Sense of 'nuclear entitlement'
His hard-line speech at the United Nations offered no hint of willingness to comply with U.N. demands that Tehran suspend uranium enrichment, which can be used to produce fuel for power stations or bombs.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDecades-old march dispute reignites in Northern Ireland, threatening political crisis

Iran denies western accusations that it is seeking nuclear bombs, saying its nuclear program is meant only to produce electricity.

Miller said the poll showed a worldwide consensus for the United Nations to take the lead in trying to prevent more countries from developing the capacity to produce nuclear fuel.

Fifty-two percent of those polled wanted the United Nations to take the lead, but the findings suggested there was also a sense of “nuclear entitlement for peaceful purposes among have-not countries, particularly in the Muslim world.”

“Diplomats have their work cut out for themselves,” he concluded.