WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� As the U.S. and Iran head into their next round of , a new AP-NORC poll finds that many U.S. adults continue to view Iran鈥檚 nuclear program as a threat 鈥� but they also don’t have high trust in President Donald Trump’s judgment on the use of military force abroad.
About half of U.S. adults are 鈥渆xtremely鈥� or 鈥渧ery鈥� concerned that Iran’s nuclear program poses a direct threat to the United States, according to the new poll from . About 3 in 10 are 鈥渕oderately鈥� concerned and only about 2 in 10 are 鈥渘ot very” concerned or 鈥渘ot concerned at all.”
The survey was conducted Feb. 19-23, as between the United States and Iran. The U.S. is seeking a deal to limit Iran鈥檚 nuclear program and ensure it does not develop nuclear weapons, while Iran says it is not pursuing weapons and has so far resisted demands that it halt uranium enrichment on its soil or hand over its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
Trump, who scrapped an earlier nuclear agreement with Iran during his first term, has repeatedly threatened to use force to compel Iran to agree , which Trump claimed to have 鈥渙bliterated” following the 12-day war in June where the . Iran has said it would respond with an attack of its own. Trump has also threatened Iran over . Both countries have if the talks on Tehran鈥檚 nuclear program fail, and the U.S. in the Mideast in decades as tensions with Iran have risen.
Most Americans, 61%, say Iran is an 鈥渆nemy鈥� of the U.S., which is up slightly from a conducted in September 2023. But their confidence in the president’s judgment when it comes to relationships 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 鈥渁 great deal鈥� or 鈥渜uite a bit鈥� of trust in Trump.
Even some Republicans 鈥� particularly younger Republicans 鈥� have reservations about Trump’s ability to make the right choices on these high-stakes issues.
Most US adults have concerns about Trump鈥檚 judgment on military force
The Trump administration this year has held two rounds of nuclear talks with Iran under Omani mediation, with a third round scheduled to begin Thursday. Similar talks last year between the U.S. and Iran about Iran鈥檚 nuclear program broke down after Israel launched what became the
鈥淲e are in negotiations with them,鈥� Trump said on Tuesday night, which took place after the poll was conducted. 鈥淭hey want to make a deal, but we haven鈥檛 heard those secret words: We will never have a nuclear weapon.鈥�
Americans have significant reservations about Trump’s judgment on foreign conflicts, the AP-NORC poll shows. Only about 3 in 10 of U.S. adults have 鈥渁 great deal鈥� or 鈥渜uite a bit鈥� of trust in Trump’s judgment on the use of military force, relationships with U.S. adversaries or the use of nuclear weapons. More than half trust him 鈥渙nly a little鈥� or 鈥渘ot at all.鈥�
On each measure, 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 roughly 9 in 10 Democrats have a low level of trust in him.
But some Republicans’ confidence is more qualified. Younger Republicans 鈥� those under 45 鈥� are less likely than older Republicans to say they trust Trump 鈥渁 great deal鈥� or 鈥渜uite a bit鈥� on his use of military force. About half of younger Republicans say this, compared with about two-thirds of older Republicans.
Many view Iran鈥檚 nuclear program as a threat
The new finding that 48% of U.S. adults are 鈥渆xtremely鈥� or 鈥渧ery鈥� concerned that Iran’s nuclear program poses a direct threat to their country is in line with an AP-NORC poll conducted in July 2025, indicating that even with recent escalations between the two countries, Americans have not changed their views.
Before the June war, Iran had been a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels. The U.N. nuclear watchdog 鈥� the International Atomic Energy Agency 鈥� had said Iran was the only country in the world to enrich to that level that wasn鈥檛 armed with the bomb.
Iran has been refusing requests by the IAEA to inspect the sites bombed in the June war, raising the concerns of nonproliferation experts.
Worries about Iran’s nuclear program cross party lines in the U.S., though Republicans are currently more concerned. Most Republicans 鈥� 56% 鈥� say they are 鈥渆xtremely鈥� or 鈥渧ery鈥� concerned about Iran鈥檚 nuclear program, compared with 44% of Democrats.
Younger Americans are less worried about Iran
Americans generally hold a negative view of Iran, but the view is sharper among older Americans.
About 6 in 10 U.S. adults say Iran is an 鈥渆nemy鈥� of the United States, up slightly from 53% from the Pearson/AP-NORC poll from 2023. Roughly 3 in 10 say the countries are 鈥渘ot friendly, but not enemies,鈥� and only about 1 in 10 Americans consider the two nations 鈥渇riendly鈥� or 鈥渃lose allies.鈥�
At the same time, only about half of U.S. adults under 45 say Iran is an enemy, compared with about 7 in 10 Americans ages 45 and older. There is also a wide generational divide in concern about Iran’s nuclear program, with only about one-third of Americans under 45 saying they are highly concerned, compared with about 6 in 10 older Americans.
Tensions over Iran’s nuclear program have , which may help explain why older Americans are more concerned. Nuclear talks had been deadlocked for years after Trump鈥檚 decision in 2018 to unilaterally withdraw the U.S. with world powers.
___
Liechtenstein reported from Vienna. Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.
___
The AP-NORC poll of 1,133 adults was conducted Feb. 19-23 using a sample drawn from NORC鈥檚 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.
___
The Associated Press receives support for nuclear security coverage from and . The AP is solely responsible for all content.
___
Additional AP coverage of the nuclear landscape:
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
