In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency announced Tuesday that nearly 2,000 people have been killed in the protests. Other reports say the death toll is over 3,000, with the real number likely to be even higher.
The protests against Iran's dire economic conditions, which have rapidly escalated in recent days, are seen as some of the most violent since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that installed the current system of clerical rule.
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Trump took to social media earlier this week, urging "Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING — TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS."
The president also said that "HELP IS ON ITS WAY," and apparently pointing to Iranian authorities, he warned, "They will pay a big price."
Pointing to the possibility of Iranian authorities executing some of the protesters, Trump said in a CBS News interview this week, "If they do such a thing, we will take very strong action."
And the White House confirmed on Monday that Trump was weighing whether to bomb Iran in reaction to the crackdown.
But seven in 10 questioned in the poll said that, in general, a president should first receive congressional approval before deciding to take military action against another country.
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"Talk of the U.S. military potentially intervening in Iran's internal chaos gets a vigorous thumbs down, while voters signal congressional approval should be a backstop against military involvement in any foreign crisis," Quinnipiac University polling analyst Tim Malloy said.
But there's a partisan divide, with 95% of Democrats and 78% of Independents saying a president should first receive approval from Congress, but Republicans, by a 54%-35% margin, saying congressional approval is not needed.
Trump last June ordered U.S. military strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities as part of Operation Midnight Hammer, amid fighting between Tehran and Israel.
President Trump has heightened his rhetoric surrounding the U.S. acquiring control of Greenland rooted in fortifying national security. (Carsten Snejbjerg/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Trump has also turned up the volume in his efforts to acquire Greenland from Denmark.
"The United States needs Greenland for the purpose of national security," the president argued in a social media post Wednesday.
Trump's push for the U.S. to acquire Greenland is causing tension with Denmark and other NATO allies who insist that the semiautonomous Danish territory should determine its own future.
Trump officials are openly considering all options, including military force, to take Greenland, spurring bipartisan opposition from some in Congress.
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According to the poll, 86% of voters said they would oppose military action to take over Greenland. And by a 55%-37% margin, voters said they opposed trying to buy Greenland.
But there's a stark political divide, with more than two-thirds of Republicans supporting efforts to buy or capture Greenland.
Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in the swing state of New Hampshire. He covers the campaign trail from coast to coast."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/republicans-democrats-say-no-u-s-military-strike-against-iran-trump-mulls-action-poll