Iran Continues Missile Tests

Iran fired a series of long-range missiles into the Persian Gulf for a second day. State television said the Shahab-3 missiles prove Iran can defend itself, although now it appears the Iranian news photos were altered to show more missiles than were actually launched. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned Iran that the U.S. would "defend our interests and defend our allies" if needed.

The public strongly favors diplomacy in dealing with Iran, according to the latest edition of our Confidence in U.S. Foreign Policy Index. In the spring edition of the index, some 47 percent said diplomacy was the best strategy. As in previous editions of the survey, very few want to use force or even threaten to do so with Iran (only 12 percent total). It's worth noting, however, that this result could shift with news events. Our Fall 2007 foreign policy pollsters happened to be in the field during Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's controversial visit to the United Nations. At that point, support for diplomacy dropped to 35 percent (although support for military action or threats of action remained very low, at 19 percent).