Exclusive: Americans believe Trump will send troops into Iran, and don't like the idea, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds

By Jason Lange

March 19, 2026

https://archive.ph/MIDBp#selection-1041.0-1059.14

WASHINGTON, March 19 (Reuters) - Some 65% of Americans believe U.S. President Donald Trump will order troops into a large-scale ground war in Iran but only ​7% support the idea, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll that ‌closed on Thursday.

The three-day poll showed Trump's broader standing with the public holding largely unchanged at 40%, up 1 percentage point from a Reuters/Ipsos poll carried ​out in the hours after the U.S. and Israel attacked ​Iran on February 28. The poll, which gathered respondents ⁠from 1,545 U.S. adults nationwide, had a margin of error of ​about 3 percentage points.

The Trump administration has mulled deploying thousands of ​U.S. troops to reinforce its operation in the Middle East, Reuters reported on Wednesday. The possible deployments could use air and naval forces to secure safe passage for ​oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, or could involve ​deploying U.S. troops to Iran's shoreline. The Trump administration has also discussed options to ‌send ⁠ground forces to Iran's Kharg Island, the hub for 90% of Iran's oil exports, Reuters reported.

Trump's Republicans largely support the war as it has played out so far, with 77% saying they approve of ​U.S. strikes on ​Iran, compared ⁠with 6% of Democrats and 28% of independents.

Some 37% of Americans overall approve of the war, the ​poll found. Fifty-nine percent disapprove, including about one in ​five ⁠Republicans.

Some 63% of Republicans - and 34% of Americans overall - said they would support deploying a small number of special forces troops to Iran. Fifty-five ⁠percent ​of respondents in the poll said they ​opposed deploying any ground troops, whether the scale of operations be large or small.