A new Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted amid the U.S. and Israeli offensive against Iran — dubbed “Operation Epic Fury” — finds that roughly one in four Americans approve of President Trump’s decision to order military strikes that resulted in the death of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The national survey, conducted Saturday and Sunday in the hours following the initiation of the joint operation, indicates that 27 percent of respondents approve of the strikes, with 43 percent disapproving and nearly 30 percent undecided.

55 percent of Republicans said they backed the military action compared with 32 percent who opposed it. Among Democrats, 73 percent disapproved of the strikes and just 7 percent offered support. Independents were similarly skeptical, with 44 percent expressing disapproval, 19 percent approving and nearly four in 10 unsure.

The poll was conducted before the Pentagon announced the first U.S. military casualties linked to the operation — three service members killed and five seriously wounded, according to U.S. officials and news reports.

In a Monday interview with the New York Post, Trump pushed back against questions about the polling, saying he was unconcerned with approval numbers and focused on what he described as necessary action.

“I think that the polling is very good, but I don’t care about polling,” Trump said. “I have to do the right thing. This should have been done a long time ago.”

Trump warned Sunday that any significant Iranian retaliation would be met with an unprecedented response. “If Iran were to hit very hard,” he said, “they would be met with a force that has never been seen before.”

Fifty-six percent of Americans said Trump is too willing to rely on military power to advance U.S. interests. That view was most pronounced among Democrats — nearly nine in 10 — and independents, at roughly 60 percent. Even among Republicans, about 25 percent said Trump was too willing to use force.

Trump — who has ordered previous strikes on Venezuela, Syria and Nigeria in recent months — defended his decisions, arguing the threat posed by Iran’s leadership and aspirations for nuclear armament warranted decisive action.

“I think people are very impressed with what is happening, actually,” the president said. “I think it’s a silent — if you did a real poll, the silent poll — and it’s like a silent majority.”

Trump’s overall job approval rating in the new survey stands at 39 percent, a one-point drop from a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in mid-February.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)