Polling conducted before the US attack on Iranian nuclear sites suggests US President Donald Trump could face an uphill battle to convince a majority of Americans to support the military strikes.
A survey from The Washington Post before Saturday's attack found 45 per cent of respondents opposed the idea of US air strikes against Iran, 25 per cent supported strikes, while 30 per cent were unsure.
“We are deeply distracted by our own issues here at home,” said Brian Katulis, a senior fellow of the Washington-based Middle East Institute, pointing to economic and cultural issues preoccupying many Americans.
Recent “No Kings” protests against Mr Trump's sweeping use of his executive authorities has also helped consolidate opposition to his Iran plans.
“These were protests that had deep concerns about President Trump overreaching on executive authority, and this action last night will continue those debates on that,” Mr Katulis said.
He added that the crucial thing for Mr Trump, based on the Post's polling, would be to convince the 30 per cent who were unsure about the idea of US strikes on Iran.
Republican Congressman Thomas Massie has described Mr Trump's military action on Iran as “not constitutional”.
But Republicans sharing that view were almost non-existent on Sunday, with most supporting Mr Trump's actions.
The White House said the strikes did not attack Iranian troops or civilians. During an appearance on NBC on Sunday, Vice President JD Vance echoed that message.
“We're not at war with Iran, we're at war with Iran's nuclear programme,” he said. “We actually want peace, but we want peace in the context of them not having a nuclear weapons programme.”
Despite Mr Trump initially claiming “spectacular” success, Pentagon officials cautioned that an in-depth assessment of Saturday's strikes on Iran would take some time.
If it becomes apparent that the strikes were not as effective as initially advertised, support for Mr Trump's decision to attack Iran could falter, Mr Katulis said.
“At the [Pentagon] news conference, they hedged a bit more,” Mr Katulis said, referring to Gen Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who urged patience while the US studies long-term battle damage assessments of the attacks.
