In an AP-NORC poll conducted in late September 2026, 69% of U.S. adults said the war in Iran had not been worth fighting. Separately, 71% disapproved of President Donald Trump’s handling of Iran. The two findings measure different views, not one combined judgment.
How many Americans say the war was not worth fighting?
AP-NORC reported that 69% of U.S. adults said the war in Iran had not been worth fighting. The poll release describes the subject as “the war in Iran”; the headline wording “US-Israel war” should not be mistaken for a verbatim survey question.
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AP-NORC’s release does not reproduce the exact question wording or response options. Accordingly, this result is best described as the poll publisher’s reported summary, not as a quotation of the question respondents saw.
What did the poll find about Trump’s handling of Iran?
In a separate measure, 71% of adults disapproved of how Trump was handling Iran. The approval measure and the judgment about whether the war was worth fighting are related topics, but they are distinct questions. The findings do not establish why respondents held either view.
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How was the AP-NORC poll conducted?
- Field dates: September 24–28, 2026.
- Participants: 2,140 U.S. adults.
- Panel and modes: AmeriSpeak, NORC at the University of Chicago’s probability-based panel, using online and telephone interviews.
- Reported sampling error: AP-NORC gives an overall margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points. That figure describes sampling error; it does not account for every possible source of survey error.
These methods and figures are reported in the AP-NORC poll release, dated October 1, 2026.
Did the result change from July?
Al Jazeera’s October 1, 2026 report says the 69% figure was five percentage points higher than in July. That is a comparison reported by Al Jazeera; the July topline and exact question wording are not established in the AP-NORC release cited here. Without checking both polls’ question wording, response options, population, and methods, the reported change should not be treated as a fully verified like-for-like trend. See Al Jazeera’s report.
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How should the other figures in the release be read?
The same AP-NORC release reports several economic measures: 65% said higher-than-usual prices resulted from Trump’s policies; 67% of Republicans said higher prices were due to factors beyond the president’s control; 17% approved of Trump’s handling of the cost of living; and 26% approved of his handling of the economy. These are separate findings about prices and economic performance. They do not explain the war-related responses.
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