Iranians want more freedom…and nukes
Iran is a country divided, according to a new Zogby International poll of Iranians out today. Nearly a third of those polled want Iran to become more secular and liberal, whereas just over a third want the country to more religious and conservative. Nearly as many Iranians believe the government should expand freedoms (23%) as ...
Iran is a country divided, according to a new Zogby International poll of Iranians out today. Nearly a third of those polled want Iran to become more secular and liberal, whereas just over a third want the country to more religious and conservative.
Nearly as many Iranians believe the government should expand freedoms (23%) as think the country’s top priority should be developing an arsenal of nuclear weapons (27%). Unsurprisingly, many divisions are generational. But you may be surprised to learn that older Iranians are more likely to admire American society than younger Iranians. Just as interesting: Iranians with access to the Internet and satellite TV are much more likely to identify the United States as the country they admire most. And more than a third disagreed with the suggestion that Iranian nuclear weapons would make the Middle East a safer place.
Worryingly, one point of consensus emerged:
More from Foreign Policy


At Long Last, the Foreign Service Gets the Netflix Treatment
Keri Russell gets Drexel furniture but no Senate confirmation hearing.


How Macron Is Blocking EU Strategy on Russia and China
As a strategic consensus emerges in Europe, France is in the way.


What the Bush-Obama China Memos Reveal
Newly declassified documents contain important lessons for U.S. China policy.


Russia’s Boom Business Goes Bust
Moscow’s arms exports have fallen to levels not seen since the Soviet Union’s collapse.