New poll underlines Iranian disappointment with US, nuclear deal
A year after the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was signed, most Iranians still support it, but a large majority lacks confidence that the United States will carry out its obligations and believes Washington is trying to prevent other countries from normalizing trade relations with the Islamic Republic.
A year after their government signed a landmark nuclear agreement, many Iranians are disappointed by lackluster economic progress, doubt that the United States will fulfill its part of the bargain and are more favorably disposed toward a controversial former president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a new poll shows.
The survey of 1,007 Iranians — conducted by telephone from June 17-27 by IranPoll.com, an independent Toronto-based firm, for the University of Maryland — confirms anecdotal information that Iranians had overly high expectations for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and failed to appreciate the obstacles Iran would still face in attracting foreign investment, reconnecting with foreign banks and increasing employment.
Among the findings, shared with Al-Monitor in advance, is a dramatic rise in popular understanding of what the JCPOA actually entailed. A year ago, a majority of Iranians (62.2%) thought all US sanctions on Iran would eventually be lifted under the agreement; now only 23.4% does. (The United States agreed to lift so-called secondary nuclear-related sanctions, affecting foreign companies, but left in place most restrictions on American economic interaction with Iran.)
Among the most concerning results of the poll was that a large majority (72%) say they have little or no confidence that the United States will meet its obligations under the deal. This compares to 41% who felt that way last September.
