http://www.lobelog.com/poll-iranian-public-opinion-on-nukes-the-u-s-politics/#more-29782

POLL: Iranian Public Opinion on Nukes, the U.S., Politics

by Jim Lobe 
A major new poll of Iranian public opinion with important and fascinating results was released here and in Tehran Tuesday and deserves much more attention than it is likely to get (at least in the United States). It’s too extensive, and we at Lobelog have been inundated with too many contributions at the moment, to do the survey justice here, so you will find below a “Summary of Findings.” The summary is interesting in itself, but the longer narrative, as well as the top-line data, is well worth reading for those who want to get a more tangible sense of what people in Iran are thinking about the pending deal and its possible political and economic consequences, as well as other issues that make up the public debate there.

The poll, which was based on telephone interviews with over 1,000 respondents between May 12 and May 28, was conducted by the University of Tehran’s Center for Public Opinion Research and Iran Poll, an independent, Toronto-based polling group, working with the Center for International and Security Studies at the University of Maryland (CISSM), which has worked with the University of Tehran on a number of past surveys of Iranian opinion. Of the total number of interviews, about 15% were conducted from Toronto; the rest from within Iran. The data collected found no remarkable variation in results. Also notable was the fact that CISSM conducted an analysis to see what proportion of the sample systematically provided responses that were in line with the stated positions of the Iranian government. That analysis found that only 9% of respondents provided answers that were fully consistent with the government’s positions; 91% provided at least one response that was directly at odds with positions taken by the state-owned news media.
As you will see in the results, the survey found strong support for a nuclear deal, but that support appears to be contingent on the (mistaken) understanding that the U.S. will lift all sanctions as part of the deal, not just those related to Iran’s nuclear activities, and that economic relief will come relatively quickly. Thus, while 57% of respondents expressed support for a deal under which Iran would substantially limit its program along the lines indicated by the Lausanne agreement, 63% of respondents assume that all U.S. sanctions would eventually be lifted, while only 23% believe that only some sanctions would be eliminated. Fifty-one percent said that unless the U.S. agrees to remove all of its sanctions, Iran should not agree to a deal. Forty-five percent said Tehran should still be prepared to make a deal that removes some U.S. sanctions and all U.N. and E.U. sanctions.http://www.lobelog.com/poll-iranian-public-opinion-on-nukes-the-u-s-politics/#more-29782