Do Americans think strikes on Iran destroyed its nuclear program? What poll found

Few Americans believe the recent U.S. strikes on Iran succeeded in destroying the country’s nuclear capabilities, according to a new YouGov/Yahoo News poll. And more Americans than not believe the mission failed to meet its objective.

The survey comes after President Donald Trump ordered the bombing of several Iranian nuclear facilities June 21. The attack was carried out by a group of B-2 bombers, which took off from Missouri and deployed bunker-busting bombs on Fordow and another site.

It followed the outbreak of war between Israel and Iran, with Israel beginning the conflict with a pre-emptive strike, citing fears that Iran was close to developing a nuclear bomb. Tehran has denied pursuing such a weapon and has said it is enriching uranium for peaceful reasons.

“We have completed our very successful attack…” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Congratulations to our great American Warriors. There is not another military in the World that could have done this. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!”

Several days later, a cease-fire was announced between Israel and Iran.

Here is a breakdown of the findings from the poll, which sampled 1,597 U.S. adults June 26-30.

Effect of U.S. strikes

Following the U.S. strikes, Trump said “Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated.”

However, just 22% of respondents said they believed this claim. Meanwhile, nearly half, 49%, said they did not believe it. An additional 29% said they were not sure.

On this question, a significant partisan divide emerged. A plurality of Republicans, 48%, said they believed the president, while most Democrats and independents — 78% and 57%, respectively — said they did not.

Respondents were also asked if the strikes “achieved their objective of destroying Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity and stopping Iran’s nuclear threat.”

A plurality, 38%, said the attack did not achieve this goal, while 30% said it did and 32% said they were unsure.

While 58% of Democrats said the strikes met the goal, most Democrats, 63%, said they did not. A plurality of independents, 44%, said they did not, according to the poll, which has a margin of error of about 3.2 percentage points.

Additionally, the poll asked respondents about a classified report from the U.S. intelligence community.

The preliminary report said the U.S. strikes had done some damage above ground, but they did not collapse subterranean facilities — meaning it set back the country’s nuclear program “by a few months.”

Thirty-six percent of respondents said they believed this report, while a smaller share, 25%, said they did not. However, a plurality, 38%, said they were not sure.

Half of Democrats said they believe the report’s findings, while 39% of independents and 29% of Republicans said the same.

Broader view

Zooming out, most respondents, 54%, also said they disapprove of the way Trump has handled the war between Iran and Israel, while 37% said they approve.

A plurality, 43%, also said the president has “gone too far” in bombing Iran. Thirty-five percent said his actions have been about right, and 8% said he did not go far enough.

Further, a plurality of respondents — between 41% and 44% — said they believe Iran is now more likely to pursue nuclear weapons, following the U.S. strikes.

This story was originally published July 3, 2025 at 1:17 PM with the headline "Do Americans think strikes on Iran destroyed its nuclear program? What poll found."