Poll: Most say Iran conflict more difficult than Trump had expected

Across months of the Iran conflict, the public continues to express three main ideas:

So today, as fighting escalates again, most Americans pick "uncertain" and "frustrated" as the top ways to describe their personal feelings about it.

Either way, now most are expecting the conflict to take months or even years longer, with a big majority saying it's been harder than the Trump administration anticipated.

It remains important to most Americans to open the Strait of Hormuz (especially as gas prices rise back home), to stop Iran's nuclear program and to stop Iran from threatening the region.

But that doesn't mean people think it'll be easy, and most suspect the conflict will last months or even years longer.

Given that, a preference for ending the war — as opposed to pressing for more concessions from Iran — remains the majority view.

But after the deal to end the war fell through, comparably fewer today want the U.S. to end it right now, a sentiment driven largely by Republicans. They largely said they backed the president on ending it last month when he announced a memorandum of understanding for a ceasefire had been reached in June, but today, they say the war should continue after that deal fell apart.

For the one-third who do want the U.S. to press on for more concessions from Iran, the goals listed above are especially important.

It's also related to age: Younger people are far more apt to say the war should end than older Americans over 65.

People still don't feel they're getting an understanding of what's happening day to day in the Strait of Hormuz, a feeling that has not abated over months and weeks.

And to most, President Trump isn't helping on that search for clarity in the public, as most feel Mr. Trump makes things sound better than they are.

On balance, perceptions of how the war is going have ticked down through the course of it.

Perceptions of who has the advantage at the moment remain mixed, at best, with many still saying neither side, and a few more saying the U.S. has the advantage now than in May.

Against that backdrop, approval of the action overall remains stable, and net negative.

Things in the U.S. look much the same as they have lately — not a lot better and not a lot worse.

(The World Cup did, on balance, make some people feel better about the country for a while, they said.)

For a large majority, incomes still aren't keeping up with inflation — and most say the president's focus is not enough on lowering prices, and also too much on still-unpopular tariffs (and too much on making changes to buildings in D.C., too