As relations between Iran and the West continue to deteriorate, a recent poll has shown that the majority of Iranians no longer support the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA or Iran nuclear agreement). The survey was conducted earlier this month. While it was neither representative nor reliable, the poll does reflect the general mood of the public and its perception of the US-led “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran. When the JCPOA was announced in 2015, 85 per cent of the public backed it; now about 42 per cent support the deal and only 12 per cent actively support it. Almost 60 per cent believe that Iran should quit the JCPOA now. Still, three quarters of the respondents would support a new round of talks, provided the US lifted the sanctions, a view that echoes similar sentiments from the Iranian President, Hassan Rouhani.
The poll also suggested that while Washington might hold the upper hand in the JCPOA and control the sanctions against Tehran, other nations, such as Japan and China, have similar capacity to mitigate the effects of the US-led pressure.
Read the comments by Norbert Chang, Research Assistant, Indo-Pacific Research Programme at Future Directions International.