Americans want to stay with deal – poll

NEW YORK – Americans of all political stripes want their government to remain within the Iran nuclear deal, a poll has found.

The survey, commissioned by CNN and conducted by SSRS on October 12-15, found that 67% would oppose the Trump administration withdrawing from the nuclear pact, brokered by six world powers and Iran in 2015.

Eighty percent of Democrats surveyed hope that President Donald Trump will remain in the deal. And 67% of self-identified independents join them, as well as nearly half of Republicans polled – 48%.

The nuclear accord was broadly unpopular in the US when it was first revealed two years ago. Polls conducted at that time revealed roughly one-third of the American public supported the agreement, and one recent poll, conducted by Fox News, suggests that national sentiment has not dramatically shifted.

But it seems many of those who oppose the agreement believe that pulling out of it now would only make matters worse. The CNN poll does not provide an update on US views on the merits of the accord itself.

The poll also shows that 30% of Americans consider Iran a “very serious threat,” compared with Russia (31%) and North Korea (62%).

Last week, Trump “decertified” the nuclear deal under US law, saying that Iran’s actions were not proportionate to US sanctions relief. He asked Congress to pass legislation that would give him diplomatic leverage to toughen the accord, and threatened to terminate it entirely if they failed to do so.