The findings mirror a broader collapse in support for the war, as Trump’s approval falls to a record low ahead of the midterms.
Nearly half of all US active-duty service members oppose the military’s role in the US-Israeli war on Iran, according to a poll conducted by Change Research for veteran-led advocacy group Common Defense between 15 and 28 September.
The poll surveyed over 730 active-duty US soldiers, immediate family members, and veterans and found that 49 percent of all respondents opposed the war, against 44 percent who backed it.
Military families rejected the war by a 38-point margin and active-duty troops by 16 points, while military veterans were the only group to support it, with 53 percent for to 44 percent against.
Beyond Iran, a majority of respondents also opposed deploying US forces to back Israel’s military aggression against Gaza and Lebanon.
Respondents also ranked deployment lengths and the health, safety, and welfare of troops in the war on Iran among the top issues Congress should investigate.
The findings mirror a broader collapse in public support for the US war on Iran, as soaring fuel prices, mounting economic strain, and US President Donald Trump’s sinking approval ratings fuel growing anger at home, weeks ahead of midterm elections.
A Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll published on 19 October put Trump’s approval rating at 33 percent, the lowest ever recorded, with 65 percent of respondents calling the decision to take military action against Iran a mistake.
Seven in 10 now say gasoline is unaffordable, after the war choked off energy exports through the Strait of Hormuz.
With the midterms approaching, a growing number of Republican lawmakers are blaming Trump’s Iran war, fuel prices, and tariffs for their party’s likely loss of Congress.
Trump’s own base has also been wavering, with Republican approval of his handling of the war on Iran falling from 73 percent in March to 60 percent in September, according to a CNN/SSRS poll.
On 1 September, a University of Massachusetts Amherst survey put Trump’s approval at a record low of 32 percent, with 68 percent saying he had mishandled the war on Iran, as inflation fueled by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz drove up prices at home
The Cradle is a journalist-driven publication covering West Asia that represents the tens of millions of regional voices not heard in the world’s English-language media.
