Iranians say no to nuclear arsenal by Roy Gutman

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Iranians say no to nuclear arsenal

by Roy Gutman

06 February 2007

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Washington - Iranians overwhelmingly support their government's drive to enrich uranium to produce electrical power but they don't favour developing nuclear weapons, according to a poll released Wednesday.

The survey, which also sampled U.S. attitudes toward Iran, found that nearly half the people in both countries thought that American military action against Iran is likely in the next year or two. But only 48 percent of Iranians said they favoured direct talks between the governments to lessen tensions, while 79 percent of Americans surveyed thought that direct talks were a good idea.

The poll was conducted by WorldPublicOpinion.org, a U.S.-based international polling organisation, in cooperation with Search for Common Ground, an advocacy group that favours a peaceful resolution of the differences between the two countries. Pollsters sampled the opinions of about 1,000 people in each country, with a panel of randomly selected Americans polled via the Internet and Iranians surveyed door to door. The poll, conducted last month, had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.

The Bush administration has offered to open direct talks with Iran if it freezes its uranium enrichment program. Iran has refused to do so, and the poll indicated that Iranians support that position. Eighty-four percent of Iranians said the capacity to enrich uranium was "very important", and a majority rejected abandoning the process, even if the United States were to agree not to use force against Iran. Those polled cited the benefits to Iran's economy, its energy needs and its prestige.

By 2 to 1, Iranians said they thought their country should remain a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, even when they were told that the treaty prohibits Iran from developing nuclear weapons. And 71 percent of Americans and Iranians said they supported a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East that would include Muslim countries and Israel.

A majority of Americans - 53 percent - said they could accept an agreement that allowed Iran to enrich uranium at the low levels needed for nuclear power if Iran gave U.N. inspectors full access to ensure that it wasn't producing weapons-grade fuel.

The State Department said the poll wouldn't change its insistence that Iran stop enriching uranium.

"The international community simply doesn't trust this regime," spokesman Sean McCormack said.

The validity of the poll wasn't questioned, even among the Iranian regime's strongest critics. Professor Ray Tanter of Georgetown University, who was a senior National Security Council staffer during the Reagan administration, told McClatchy Newspapers that the poll "seems to be legitimate" in reflecting the views of Iranians as moderate people who would like "some kind of a deal".

He also said the poll was unlikely to put pressure on the Iranian government to compromise on nuclear issues because it was "much less constrained" by public opinion than The U.S. government is.

But he said the same applied to the overwhelming preference that Americans stated for direct US-Iran talks. "I don't think it will have any impact on the Bush administration," he said.

AMONG THE FINDINGS

84 percent of Iranians say Iran should have the capacity to enrich uranium.
66 percent of Iranians say it's a good idea to be a part of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
68 percent of Iranians say they favour eventually eliminating all nuclear weapons, the treaty's goal.
82 percent of Americans favour eliminating all nuclear weapons.
48 percent of Iranians think it's likely that the US will take military action against Iran's nuclear facilities, as do 49 percent of Americans.

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* Roy Gutman is an American journalist and author. This article is distributed by the Common Ground News Service (CGNews) and can be accessed at www.commongroundnews.org.

Source: News & Observer, 25 January 2007, www.newsobserver.com
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.


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