U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Britain's Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, EU High Representative Catherine Ashton, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L-R) pose for a family picture during their meeting in Vienna November 24, 2014. (Reuters)[/caption]As Iran and the United States are holding intense talks about Tehrans nuclear program in the Swiss city of Lausanne, a new poll shows that Americans broadly support direct negotiations with Iran.
According to a CNN/ORC International Poll, direct diplomatic negotiations between Iran and the US are broadly popular as 68 percent of the total 1,009 respondents voted in favor of the talks.
The poll, which was conducted on March 13-15, 2015, indicated that only 29 percent of adult Americans oppose their countrys direct talks with Iran.
Also according to the poll, the majority of the US party lines support diplomacy between the US and Iran with 77 percent of Democrats, 65 percent of Republicans and 64 percent of independents favoring it.
Irans Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and US Secretary of State John Kerry opened a fresh round of talks in Lausanne on Monday in an attempt to bridge differences on the outstanding issues pertaining to Tehrans nuclear program and reach an agreement.
In a bid to sabotage the diplomatic efforts, a group of 47 Republican senators recently sent a letter to Iran over an emerging nuclear deal.
According to the poll, 49 percent of Americans believe that the letter went too far, while 39 percent say it was an appropriate response to the way the nuclear negotiations were going.
Opinions on the letter were divided along partisan lines, with 67 percent of Democrats saying it went too far while 52 percent of Republicans called it appropriate. However, 47 percent of independents think the letter went too far while 42 percent regard it as appropriate.
Fifty percent of Republicans said the letter had no impact on the US negotiations with Iran while 24 percent believe it helped and 21 percent thought it hurt.
Among Democrats, 44 percent said it had no impact, 30 percent that it hurt and 22 percent that it helped.
In an open letter to Iran on March 9, 47 Republican senators warned Tehran that any nuclear deal with President Barack Obama could last only as long as he is in office.
The US senators said any deal signed by the Obama administration must be approved by Congress or it could be reversed by next president after Obama leaves office in January 2017.
Iran and the P5+1 countries the United States,Britain, France, China, and Russia plus Germany are seeking to seal a comprehensive nuclear deal by July 1.The two sides have already missed two self-imposed deadlines for inking a final agreement since they signed an interim one in the Swiss city of Geneva in November 2013.
By Press TV
