Published
Jun 23, 2026 at 09:37 PM EDT
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Only one-quarter of Americans believe the United States has won the war with Iran, according to a new national poll from The Economist/YouGov, underscoring the public’s lingering skepticism over the conflict.
The survey found that just 25 percent of respondents said the U.S. won while most remain doubtful that it emerged victorious. The findings suggest that despite the memorandum of understanding and ongoing diplomatic efforts, many Americans remain unconvinced that the military campaign delivered a clear victory.
President Donald Trump, however, continues to argue that the conflict ended on favorable terms for the United States. Newsweek reached out to the White House via email on Tuesday evening about the poll.
Speaking to the crowd at a Mack Trucks manufacturing site in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday, Trump said Iran has agreed to never have a nuclear weapon going forward and highlighted the resumption of oil shipments through one of the world’s most critical maritime choke points. “Now we’re leaving Iran with no navy, no air force, no anti-aircraft, no missile capability, no nuclear program, we’re leaving them without any nuclear capacity, and they’ve agreed to that, and we’re getting along quite well.”
He also emphasized that the Strait of Hormuz remains open, in an earlier post to Truth Social on the same day.
Potentially complicating the debate over whether the United States achieved its objectives are Trump’s own comments about Iran’s military capabilities. During the recent G7 summit in France, Trump said it would be “a little bit unfair” for Iran to be denied ballistic missiles if other countries in the region possess them. He argued that if surrounding nations like Saudi Arabia and Qatar maintain missile arsenals, Iran could retain missiles in “relative proportion” to its neighbors, Reuters reported last week.
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The reported 14-point memorandum of understanding with Iran reportedly includes sanctions relief mechanisms along with commitments aimed at keeping the Strait of Hormuz open.
Yet uncertainty remains over several key provisions in the reported framework, including future administration along with maritime services in the strait and whether Iran will fully comply with international inspection demands.
In his post to Truth Social on Tuesday, Trump said in part that “Despite their protestations and false statements to the contrary, coupled with the drumbeat of the Fake News, which is doing everything possible to make the U.S. Victory as small and insignificant as possible, Iran has fully and completely agreed to highest level Nuclear inspections long into the future (Infinity!!!). This will insure ‘Nuclear Honesty.’ If they did not agree to this, there would be no further negotiations!”
According to the The Economist/YouGov poll, 25 percent of U.S. adults think America has won the war, 22 percent feel Iran has won, 41 percent say neither and 13 percent are unsure.
The poll also shows that 81 percent think it is likely the negotiations will fall through and the war will restart, versus 19 percent who think it is unlikely. The survey also finds that 53 percent think Iran should give up its missiles as part of a deal compared to 18 percent who said no and 29 percent who are not sure.
According to the survey, 66 percent say the U.S. should make a deal to end the war as quickly as possible, compared to 10 percent who say no and 24 percent who are unsure.
The poll surveyed 1,679 U.S. adults from June 19 to June 22 and has a margin of error of 3.3 percent.
When asked about the poll, Columbia University professor Robert Y. Shapiro told Newsweek: “And this is not surprising since Trump asserted a victory that did not exist regarding Iran’s nuclear program nor end its military capability, and only had negative economic consequences with the closing of the Strait of Hormuz.”
While the president insists the war likely prevented a larger crisis, the poll suggests many Americans remain unconvinced that the U.S. achieved a clear victory.
According to AAA, the current national average price for a gallon of regular gas is $3.9260. Yesterday’s average was $3.9290 and last week’s was $4.0440.
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