Iran and World

By Paul Taylor, European Affairs Editor Wed Sep 6, 2006

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Most French and Americans would support military action against

Iran as a last resort if other means fail to stop it acquiring nuclear weapons, a major transatlantic opinion survey showed on Wednesday.

But among Germans polled, more said they would accept Iran getting the atom bomb rather than using force if diplomacy or sanctions do not work.

The annual Transatlantic Trends survey found that while Europeans' views of U.S. foreign policy have turned even more negative in the last year, the two sides of the Atlantic share broadly similar perceptions of the threats to their security.

Despite closer U.S.-EU cooperation at government level on issues ranging from Iran's nuclear program to

Afghanistan and the Middle East, most voters on both sides of the Atlantic feel relations have either turned worse or stayed the same.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried told reporters in Berlin the findings showed that both Americans and Europeans saw Iran's nuclear ambitions as