Recent data released by the National Iranian American Council (NIAC) suggests that a strong majority of Iranian Americans support diplomacy to resolve tensions between the U.S. and Iran — a finding at odds with the dominant conversation online suggesting that most Iranian Americans are in favor of the Iran war.
The data was collected through a survey of 505 Iranian Americans conducted by Zogby Analytics between Feb. 27 and March 5. Among the most notable results were that a clear majority of Iranian Americans — 61.6% — support diplomacy to move toward de-escalation and a negotiated path forward.
Screengrab via niacouncil.org
“If anything, a lot of people were surprised because they thought Iranian Americans overwhelmingly favored this war,” NIAC president Jamal Abdi said in a Wednesday press briefing. “In fact, it is divided in half. There was really no mandate for the war.”
As Abdi noted, the survey results show that Iranian Americans were nearly evenly divided on whether the U.S. should have initiated war with Iran, with 49.3% opposing the attacks and 48.9% supporting them.
Those who oppose the war are primarily concerned with harm inflicted on innocent civilians and the potential for further destabilization of the country, while those in support hope the war will make regime change more likely and reduce threats imposed by Iran’s nuclear program, according to the poll.
Screengrab via niacouncil.org
During the press briefing, Abdi also said that prominent Iranian Americans have attempted to “shape public perceptions about this war” by “proclaiming that war is the only path that anybody who disagrees is an Iran regime lobbyist.”
The reality is much more nuanced. This newly released data attempts to dispel some of the misinformation surrounding the opinions of the Iranian American community — a community that has faced trauma and division, Abdi said.
“This trauma has been preyed upon by outside interests who want war,” Abdi said during the press briefing. “We think it's really important to end this predatory relationship and expose to the public where our community actually stands, and encourage members of our community to stand up and be vocal and feel that they can be a full participant in U.S. democracy without fear of political violence or online cancellation or death threats and attacks.”
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