Majority say Iran threatens U.S. interests

PRINCETON, N.J., Feb. 17 (UPI) -- A majority of Americans think Iran's military power poses a threat to U.S. interests during the next decade, a Gallup Poll released Wednesday indicated.

Results showing 61 percent of respondents view Iran as a critical threat and 29 percent as an important threat come as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is trying to win support among Arab nations for additional sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program, Gallup said.

Respondents were asked to assess the threat seven international issues pose to the United States, the Princeton, N.J., polling agency said. Only international terrorism was more likely to be considered as a "critical" threat to U.S. vital interests than Iran.

The issues were international terrorism, Iran's military power, military power of North Korea, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, China's military power, the Indian-Pakistani conflict and the military power of Russia.

Americans ages 18-29 were significantly less likely than Americans 30 years and older to view Iran as a critical threat, Gallup said.

Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,025 adults conducted nationwide Feb. 1-3. The margin of error is 4 percentage points.