CBS News poll: Americans sound off on Iran war, gas prices and more

Most Americans offered a pessimistic outlook on the economy and the state of the Iran war, according to a new poll.
The CBS News/YouGov poll, released Sunday, showed that Americans believe the Iran war will negatively impact the economy, with a majority of respondents already reporting higher gas prices. The poll comes as the U.S. enters its fourth week of military operations against Iran.
Majorities of Americans said the war in Iran will make gas and oil prices higher in both the short and long term. Ninety percent said it will make prices higher in the short term, while 58% expect the same long-term impact. Just 6% said there would be no impact in the short term and 15% said there would be no impact long term.
Sixty-three percent of Americans said the Iran war will make the U.S. economy weaker in the short term. Just 22% said there would be no difference, and 15% said it would make it stronger in the short term.
The respondents offered a negative prediction on the future of the economy over the next year. Thirty-two percent predict the U.S. economy to be in a recession, 26% expect the economy to slow down, 20% said it would hold steady and 22% predicted it would be booming.
The poll also found that 85% of Americans said gas prices are going up in their areas. About 2% said they were going down and 6% said they were staying the same, according to the poll.
When asked about the Iran war, 37% predicted that the conflict will take months to end. Nineteen percent said it would take days or weeks and 14% said it would take years. Another 30% were not sure, according to the poll.
Many Americans also believe that the Iran war, which only 40% of respondents approved of, will make the U.S. less safe in both the short term and long term.
Forty-nine percent said it will make the U.S. less safe in the short term, while 42% said the same for the long term. Just 27% and 36% said it would make the U.S. safer in the short term and long term, respectively.
The poll also showed that 57% of Americans believe the war is going badly for the U.S., while just 43% said it is going well.
Overall, President Donald Trump had a 40% approval rating and a 60% disapproval rating in the latest poll. Just 38% approved of how he is handling Iran, while 62% said they disapproved. On the economy, just 36% approved of Trump’s handling of the issue and 64% disapproved.
The poll was conducted among 3,335 U.S. adults between March 17-20. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.1 percentage points.