At $4 a gallon again, even Republicans souring on Iran war

Republican support for President Trump's war with Iran remained steady at 71% in June, but has fallen to 61% in July, according to a survey by the Associated Press's NORC Center for Public Affairs. Everyone else overwhelmingly disapproves of the war, with support among "independents" falling to 17% and support among Democrats falling from 8% to 4% in the last few weeks. Overall, just 28% of U.S. adults support the war.

The findings also indicate that most Americans' goals for the conflict may not be aligned with Trump, who has repeatedly said the war was launched to keep a nuclear weapon out of Iran's hands. While about two-thirds of U.S. adults say it's "extremely" or "very" important to keep Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon — with Republicans especially likely to say this — even more Americans say it's highly important for the U.S. to keep gasoline prices low or negotiate a permanent ceasefire with Iran.

Trump's overall approval rating is at 33%, similar to this point in his own first term and Joe Biden after 18 months. When asked if the war should continue, Republican support drops to 48%. But few Americans want to "completely stop" military action against Tehran, though, wth only 9% of Republicans and 39% of Democrats calling for an end to military action. What they really want is for gas prices to go down.

Many Americans continue to be concerned about the pocketbook impact of the Iran war. About 7 in 10 U.S. adults — 72% — say it's "extremely" or "very" important for the U.S. to prevent domestic oil and gas prices from rising, up slightly from 67% in March. Oil topped $100 a barrel last week, ending a brief period of lower prices when hostilities between the U.S. and Iran eased in June.

A ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran frayed after Israel refused to end its own attacks on Lebanon, and hostilities ultimately resumed and spread, with Yemen's Houthi launching drone strikes on vessels in the Red Sea and now the Mediterranean. Today CNN reports that Hamas has offered to give up its arms, representing a breakthrough in negotiations—but only if Israel upholds a truce in Gaza.