Americans see Iran-war harm to allies — but only 38% support U.S. assistance

Two-thirds of Americans say the U.S.–Iran conflict is causing serious global harm, a majority accept America bears some responsibility — but only 38 percent back U.S. assistance, and Republicans reject it 3-to-1.

Americans see the Iran war’s harm to other countries, and most accept the U.S. bears some responsibility for it. But only 38 percent support American assistance to countries that have been economically harmed by the conflict — a 30-percentage-point “see-it-own-it-don’t-fix-it” gap.

The Bondi Partners U.S. Pulse — a nationally representative poll delivered by YouGov — asked Americans whether they agreed or disagreed with the following statements:

• “The United States’ military conflict with Iran is causing serious economic and social difficulties for countries around the world.”
• “The United States bears some responsibility for the economic difficulties other countries are facing as a result of its military action against Iran.”
• “The United States should provide assistance to countries that have been economically hurt by US military action against Iran.”

Group		Aware of harm	Accepts some responsibility	Supports U.S. assistance	Awareness → Assistance gap
All adults		68%	57%	38%	−30pp
Republicans		48%	36%	18%	−31pp
Independents		63%	54%	31%	−33pp
Democrats		91%	81%	62%	−29pp

Source: Bondi Partners U.S. Pulse, Wave 3. YouGov, n=1,000 U.S. adults, fielded 30 April – 4 May 2026. Margin of error ±3.6pp.

Iran Impact — the headline finding

A 30-point “see-it-own-it-don’t-fix-it” gap

Sixty-eight percent of Americans agree the U.S.–Iran conflict is causing serious economic and social difficulties for countries around the world. Fifty-seven percent agree the United States bears some responsibility for that harm. Only 38 percent support U.S. assistance to countries economically hurt by the conflict.

The drop from awareness to assistance — 30 percentage points — is consistent across nearly every partisan and demographic cut tested. Most American voters can see the problem, accept their country has a role in it, and decline to act on it.

Don’t-know responses on awareness and responsibility were unusually low at 5%. Americans have formed views on the Iran war’s global impact. They are not undecided.

The partisan asymmetry

The “don’t-fix-it” half of the gap sits heavily on the political right. Republicans reject U.S. assistance to harmed countries 18 percent to 58 percent — a 3-to-1 margin against. A third of Republicans strongly oppose.

Independents tilt against assistance too, with 31 percent in support and 24 percent opposed. Even among Democrats — where awareness is near universal at 91 percent — around a third of voters who accept American responsibility decline to back assistance.

The political space in Washington for U.S.-funded help to harmed countries does not exist on the right or in the centre. It frays even on the left.

A generational story — with one exception

The pattern is mostly consistent across age bands, with one striking exception. Among 45 to 64-year-olds, the awareness-to-assistance gap is widest at 36 points. Active opposition to assistance peaks at 42 percent in this group. Midlife Americans — not the oldest cohort — are the most resistant.

The 18–29 cohort is the only group which comes close to supporting U.S. assistance to other countries. Among under-30s, support outweighs opposition, 49 percent to 13 percent, and the gap between awareness and assistance is half as large as other ages, at 16 percentage points.

What this means for Australia

The Iran-war energy shock has imposed real costs on the rest of the world. The Bondi Partners U.S. Pulse data shows American voters have registered that harm and accept their country has some responsibility for it. It also tells us they are not willing — at numbers that would move policy — to convert that recognition into assistance.

“Americans are doing it tough too. Petrol above four dollars a gallon, sticky inflation driving household costs higher, an unsettled political environment — there isn’t a lot of political room in Washington right now for big new commitments to allies, however reasonable those commitments might be.”

— Joe Hockey, President and Founding Partner, Bondi Partners

“I think the resistance comes from a place of feeling unable, rather than unwilling to support. This comes through in the results for Americans in their mid-40s to mid-60s who have the widest awareness-to-assistance gap. Cost of living pressures are typically at their most extreme then: that’s when families have teenage and college aged kids, mortgages and climbing health costs.

— Joe Hockey, President and Founding Partner, Bondi Partners

“The alliance rests on decades of goodwill between Australia and the U.S., but it runs on hard-headed mutual interest, and the Bondi Partners U.S. Pulse data is a good reminder of that.”

— Joe Hockey, President and Founding Partner, Bondi Partners

Alliance Tracker — Republican slide stabilizes

The Alliance Tracker held steady at the topline. Fifty-six percent of Americans agree the U.S. benefits from the alliance with Australia (57 percent in March, 59 percent in April). Just under half of Americans agree Australia does its fair share.

The defining finding from last month’s Bondi Partners U.S. Pulse — a 12-point Republican fall in strong agreement that the U.S. benefits from the alliance — has stabilized, but not reversed. Republican strong agreement sits at 24 percent, 10 points below March. Republicans are not flipping into opposition; they are moving from conviction into ambivalence.

AMERICA BENEFITS	Mar	Apr	May	Apr→May	Mar→May
Strongly agree	34%	22%	24%	+1.5pp	−10.1pp
Somewhat agree	29%	37%	34%	−2.1pp	+5.5pp
Neither	19%	26%	30%	+3.4pp	+10.9pp
Don’t know	13%	10%	6%	−3.2pp	−6.7pp
NET AGREE	63%	59%	58%	−0.7pp	−4.7pp

* Figures in bold represent shifts that are statistically significant at greater than a 99% confidence interval.

“The Republican slide hasn’t snapped back. It has stabilized at the lower level. The strongest pro-alliance position on the right is sliding into ‘I’m not sure’ — not a base on which to take Australia’s standing in Washington for granted.”

— Joe Hockey, President and Founding Partner, Bondi Partners

About the AFR/Bondi Partners U.S. Pulse

The Bondi Partners U.S. Pulse is a monthly polling series measuring American attitudes on issues of public policy that have direct implications for Australia and its relationship with the United States. It is the only poll that regularly tracks American attitudes to the issues that impact the Australia–U.S. relationship.

The U.S. Pulse is commissioned by Bondi Partners, the strategic advisory firm founded by former Australian Treasurer and Ambassador to the United States, Joe Hockey, who served as ambassador during the first Trump presidency.

Methodology

The Bondi Partners U.S. Pulse is conducted by YouGov. This wave surveyed 1,000 U.S. adults using YouGov’s online panel and was weighted to be nationally representative of the U.S. adult population by age, gender, race, education, and 2024 presidential vote. The overall margin of error is ±3.6 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. Fieldwork was conducted from 30 April to 4 May 2026.