February 7th, 2012, Safa Khairy
High percentages of Americans (64%), Britons (70%), Germans (74%) and Danes (76%) believe that Iran is probably enriching uranium to make nuclear weaponsDouble the number of Americans (44%) than Britons (23%) would bomb Iran over uranium enrichment37% of Danes would bomb IranOne in five people in the Middle East (20%) would bomb Iran. Almost a third of Americans would support the assassination of senior political figures in Iran. A quarter of Americans would support the assassination of scientists working in Iran's nuclear programme. One in five Americans would support a ground invasion involving US troops.
A cross-country study by YouGov's university research arm YouGov-Cambridge found that Americans are significantly more likely to support aggressive measures against Iran than Europeans or those from the Middle East. Denmark also has high levels of support for aggressive measures compared to its European neighbours.
44% of Americans would support plans to bomb Iran's nuclear installations in comparison to 37% in Denmark, 18% in Germany, 23% in Britain and 20% in the Middle East30% of Americans would support the assassination of senior political figures in Iran, versus 22% of Danes, 13% in Germany, 15% in Britain and 14% in the Middle East26% of Americans would support the assassination of scientists working in Iran's nuclear programme, versus 17% in Denmark, 9% in Germany, 14% in Britain and 12% in the Middle East22% of Americans would support a ground invasion involving troops from their own country, versus 27% in Denmark, 18% in Germany, 12% in Britain and 14% in the Middle East.
Economic sanctions? Cyber-warfare? Europe says yes, Middle East no
When it comes to economic sanctions and cyber-warfare, Middle Eastern opinion differs significantly from both European and American trends, with Middle Eastern respondents much less likely to support taking this kind of action.
Only 44% of those in the Middle East support increased economic sanctions against Iran, compared to 70% in the United States, 74% in both Germany and Denmark, and 70% of people in Britain,Similarly, just 30% of Middle Eastern respondents support the application of cyber-warfare to undermine Iran's nuclear research, in comparison with 56% in the United States, 46% in Germany, 44% in Denmark and 42% in Britain.
These differences of opinion likely indicate greater reluctance among those with nearby borders to support ‘softer’ measures that might affect the economic health of the region as a whole, says Director of YouGov-Cambridge Dr. Joel Faulkner Rogers.