61% of Americans see Iran’s military as critical threat

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As the United States seeks to build support for toughening sanctions against Iran, about three of five Americans see the military power of the Islamic Republic as critical to U.S. interests, according to a poll released on Tuesday.

A Gallup poll found 61% of Americans saw Iran as a critical threat and another 21% said Iran was important.

The findings are based on a poll taken from Feb. 1 to Feb. 3, before Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton increased the diplomatic offensive against Iran in her current visit to the Mideast.

But the findings come as the United States, Russia and France have questioned Iran’s move to step up its uranium enrichment program, an action the countries view as a continuation of the Islamic Republic’s efforts to acquire nuclear weapons.

The United States has been pursuing a campaign to build support for increased sanctions against Iran, already under United Nations prohibitions. But it remains unclear whether Russia and China, permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, would go along with tougher sanctions.

The United States has repeatedly said it has not ruled out the possibility of military actions against Iran, a position repeated on Tuesday by White House spokesman Robert Gibbs at his briefing. “I wouldn’t rule out anything,” he told reporters.

The Gallup poll asked Americans to assess the threat of each of seven international issues to the United States. Only international terrorism, at 81%, was more likely to be rated as a critical threat to U.S. vital interests than Iran. North Korea was seen as an equal threat as Iran.

Terrorism also ranked as the top issue in 2004, when Gallup last asked the question.

There has been no real change in the perceived threat of the India-Pakistan conflict since 2004. Americans, however, are more likely today to view the military power of China as a critical threat than in 2004, by 46% to 39%. Russia also climbed up the scale to 23% from 18% in 2004.

The conflict between Israelis and Palestinians fell from 58% in 2004 to 47%, according to the poll.

-- Michael Muskal

Twitter.com/LATimesmuskal