Most Americans support nuclear deal with Iran: Poll

A clear majority of Americans support reaching a nuclear agreement with Iran that limits the country’s nuclear enrichment program in exchange for removing sanctions on Tehran, according to a new poll.

The new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds that 59 percent of people in the US support an agreement in which the P5+1 group of countries lift major economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for limited uranium enrichment in the country.

The survey, released hours before a self-imposed March 31 deadline for reaching a mutual understanding, found that about 31 percent of Americans oppose such a deal.

Overall, the Washington Post-ABC poll, which was conducted March 26 to 29, shows that Americans back a nuclear deal with Tehran by a nearly 2 to 1 margin.

Iran and the P5+1 countries – the US, Britain, France, Russia and China plus Germany – have been negotiating to reach a comprehensive deal on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program. The two sides have set July 1 as the deadline for a final agreement.

Some analysts say the United States and its European allies must reach a comprehensive agreement with Iran over its nuclear program because sanctions against the Islamic Republic will not work.

New York Times journalist and writer Roger Cohen wrote in his article, titled Iran Matters Most and published on Tuesday, that “an Iranian nuclear accord lasting at least a decade that ring-fences a fiercely monitored and strictly limited enrichment program… is not an ideal outcome, but it is the best conceivable outcome of protracted talks.”

US Secretary of State John Kerry told a CNN correspondent in Lausanne on Monday that he and his global counterparts were working hard to resolve “tricky issues” obstructing a nuclear agreement with Iran.

Last week, Kerry defended the US policy of continuing nuclear negotiations with Iran, saying if Washington walks away from the talks, the sanctions against the Islamic Republic will not hold.