Iran War May Last Longer, Was Harder Than Trump Admin Expected: New Poll Reveals US Sentiment | Today’s news
A new poll reveals Americans’ indifferent views on several issues related to the ongoing US-Iran war. For many, the conflict is “marked with feelings of insecurity” and most respondents to the survey believed it was not developing well.
According to new CBS News Polls from July 22-24, 2026, most Americans chose “unsure” (58%) and “frustrated” (57%) as the best way to describe their personal feelings about the war as fighting escalates again. Only 19 percent of those surveyed were “optimistic” about it.
Most people also expect the conflict to last months or even years longer, with a large majority (76%) saying it was harder than the Trump administration anticipated.
Read also | US-Iran War News LIVE: Iran Halts Strikes as Trump Gives Space for Talks
What do Americans want?
The publicly expressed goals have been consistent, CBS News reported Sunday.
For most Americans, opening the Strait of Hormuz (especially as gas prices rise at home), stopping Iran’s nuclear program, stopping the Islamic Republic from threatening the region, and the security of the Iranian people remain important.
“The conflict will last longer”
Most suspect that the conflict will last months or even years longer.
When asked “how much longer the military conflict with Iran will last,” a full 37 percent said it could last months, 21 percent said years, 9 percent days/weeks, and 33 percent said they were unsure.
End the war or pressure Iran?
Given this, favoring an end to the war—as opposed to pressing for further concessions from Iran—remains the majority view.
For the one-third who want the U.S. to seek more concessions from Iran, the above goals are especially important.
Read also | The US and Iran are delaying further strikes after two weeks of escalation
It’s also related to age: Younger people (18-29) are much more likely to say the war should end than older Americans over 65.
What drives this uncertainty?
People still don’t feel like they understand what’s going on in the Strait of Hormuz every day.
And for most, President Trump is not helping this quest for public clarity, as a majority (60%) feel Trump is making things better than they are.
Meanwhile, as the war progressed, ideas about how the war went on changed.
Iran vs USA: Who has the edge?
Opinions on who has the advantage right now remain mixed at best, with many still saying neither party (38%) and a few more (40%) saying the U.S. has an advantage now than in May.
Iran and the US stopped the strikes
Iran and the United States held fire on Monday, giving Gulf shipping and the oil industry relief from missile attacks as Donald Trump’s UN envoy said the president was “giving some space to talks,” AFP reported.
Tehran said it had halted retaliatory strikes against Washington’s allies in the Middle East, and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz told “Fox News Sunday” that while the forces would remain “locked and loaded,” Trump would give negotiations “some space.”
Read also | US-Iran War: Trump Reportedly Shedding Plan to Expand Military Campaign
Before Friday, the US military had carried out 13 consecutive nights of strikes against Iran, the biggest resurgence in the nearly five-month-old war since an April ceasefire. But Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights passed without bombing.
“Since … our strategy was essentially retaliatory, we also stopped our retaliatory operations,” Iranian military spokesman Mohammad Akraminia said.
