Poll: Fewer than half of Iranians back support for Syria

PRINCETON, N.J., Nov. 15 (UPI) -- Fewer than half of Iranians say they favor economic, military or political support for its war-torn ally, Syria, a Gallup poll released Friday indicated.

Forty-five percent of Iranians asked said they favor economic aid to Syria, while 37 percent said Iran should supply military support and 48 percent said Iran should offer political support in a survey conducted in June. All three percentages are lower than results of a survey conducted in December.

The Iranian government has provided Syria political and military support in the past two years, as well as lending President Bashar Assad's regime billions of dollars and selling oil at a steep discount. The Syrian government has been able to continue paying government salaries and pensions, which have proven crucial in keeping key segments of the population on its side.

A majority of Iranians also said they weren't closely following the news out of Syria, the Princeton, N.J., polling agency said. Thirty-nine percent say they are following the Syrian conflict "very closely" or "somewhat closely," while 18 percent say they are not watching closely at all and 41 percent didn't express an opinion.

Results are based on telephone interviews with 3,507 adults conducted Nov. 6-Dec. 11, 2012, and May 24-June 6, 2013, in Iran. The margin of error ranges from 2.8 percentage points to 4 percentage points.