Support for Iran has declined among Arabs and Muslims, a new poll of 20 countries in North Africa and the Middle East has found.
Iran’s favorability ratings fell from about 90 percent to about 40 percent in Egypt, while ratings fell even more dramatically in Saudi Arabia in recent years, from 85 to nearly 5 percent. Figures in other countries showed a similar decline.
The poll, which was conducted by Dr. James Zogby, head of Zogby Research Services (ZRS) and President of the Arab American Institute (AAI). The results will be formally unveiled on Tuesday at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, DC.
Iran– once praised for its defiance of the West– is increasingly seen as a meddlesome provocateur, the survey found. It also uncovered the widespread opposition to the country’s nuclear program.
“When American policy makers discuss Iran, the focus is on Israel, as if that were the only issue to consider,” Zogby said. ” In reality, the Islamic Republic of Iran is not only a concern for Americans and Israelis. It is also a growing concern for people across the Arab and Muslim Worlds.”