Americans weigh in on the Iran war, gas prices and their fears

After six weeks of a war with Iran that has jolted energy markets and fuelled worries about the global economy, Americans are confronting what the conflict means for their lives, even as a fragile ceasefire takes hold.

For a 65-year-old Marine veteran interviewed in Colorado, the US and Israeli strikes finally dealt with a threat he believes Washington ignored for decades, while a retired businessman in California criticised the war as pointless and ego-driven.

Rising costs dominated discussions elsewhere, with a caterer in Indiana struggling to generate enough income to cover higher petrol costs. In Atlanta, as people lingered in the sunshine of a public park, a college student said the war was wrecking the economy, while a 32-year-old cook remarked during an interview that, beyond the television screen, the conflict scarcely felt real.

Reuters spoke with 16 people across Indiana, New York, California, Georgia and Colorado on Wednesday - a day after the United States and Iran agreed to the ceasefire ahead of planned talks in Pakistan on Saturday - to understand how they are processing the war amid rapid news cycles, constant social media distraction and a fractured political landscape.

Launched without congressional approval, the war is broadly unpopular, though views differ along partisan lines. A Reuters/Ipsos poll published on March 31 found that 60% of Americans opposed US military strikes on Iran, with 74% of Republicans supporting the action, compared with 7% of Democrats.

In addition to their thoughts on the war, Reuters asked them about the economy, the country's political divide, and the extent to which they are keeping up with news developments.

Here is what they said:

Some back war as necessary, some question justification

-- Don Smith, 65, a Marine veteran who runs a contracting business and barbecue restaurant in Mead, a town of about 6,000 people in northern Colorado that President Donald Trump handily won in the 2024 election, sees the war as just.

"Iran has killed a lot of Americans. They've killed a lot of our troops. They've supported terrorism against Israel and other places for a long time," said Smith, who was on active duty in 1983 when a bombing by the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Beirut killed 241 US service members, an event that shaped his view of Iran since. "I think Trump's just doing what needs to be done right now."

-- Terry Lemoine, 82, a retired business owner, expressed his dismay with Trump and the war as he was catching some sun in the outside seating area of a shopping mall in Carlsbad, a well-to-do beach city 35 miles (55 km) north of San Diego.

"It never should have happened. He (Trump) just does what he wants to do. He doesn't care about anybody, just himself. That's it. The war was just stupid, there was no reason for it," he said, adding that he believed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talked Trump into pursuing the war.

-- "You only see it (the war) on TV, so you don't feel like it's real. It's not here," said Antwuan Bannister, a 32-year-old cook, as he relaxed in downtown Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park, where children kicked soccer balls and flew kites while adults lounged on the grass and benches, soaking in the warm weather.

"Trump is a macho man, that's why we're at war. He wants to run the world. This will backfire on our country."

-- Chad Gard, 50, who was selling breads, soups and cinnamon rolls at a farmers market in the parking lot of a senior living facility in Chesterton, Indiana, said he was not surprised Trump went to war despite campaign promises to usher in global peace.

"I didn't believe him when he was making the promises," said Gard, who voted for Kamala Harris in the last presidential election. "Now it's like, where are we going to go to war next?"

"We're ruining our position in the world, we're being the bad guys."

Serious concerns about higher petrol prices and economy

-- "Our economy sucks," said Christian Anderson, a 22-year-old junior at Clark Atlanta University as he walked Centennial Olympic Park. "I'm no economist, but I'm not particularly happy. This pointless war is destroying our economy."

-- "Prices have been going up ever since the Biden administration - under Joe Biden, the prices were through the ceiling," said Smith in Colorado. "They went down in the first year of Trump's return, and are rising now because of Iran. Still, prices now are nothing more than they were three or four years ago, so there isn't much difference."

-- Melanie Curtis, owner of Chicago-based Gene Catering and Desserts, said rising fuel prices were having a major impact on her business because she routinely drives to about seven Midwestern farmers' markets a week, like the one in Chesterton.

"With this war going on, and with everything that we have going on in politics, $100,000 is not enough," said Curtis, describing how her annual target of $100,000 in income was not sufficient to cover her costs. "We're still underwater, we're still struggling, we're still trying to make ends meet."

-- Retired New York City firefighter Walt Moran, 69, said he was worried about a lasting impact from Iran's move to block shipping traffic from passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

"I don't drive myself, but, I've noticed these things. Even two weeks ago, (the gas price) was $3.50 a gallon, and a couple of days ago, it was $4.19," Moran said as he was heading home from Manhattan to Staten Island on a ferry. "According to people who know about these things, even if they open up the Strait tomorrow, you know, there's gonna be such a backlog. You know, it's not like they open the Strait, and prices go down right away."

Anxiety over prolonged conflict, boots on ground

-- Dana Cuffy, a registered behaviour technician in Atlanta, said that her sister is in the Army Reserves and was just told she would be deployed to Kuwait in August if not sooner.

"It's horrible worry all the time," said Cuffy, 32, adding that her sister says "not to worry but how can we not. We try not to show it."

-- Aaron Klug, who was selling flowers and green onions at the market in Chesterton, said he was worried about the risk that Iran or its allies would retaliate against Americans.

"I would worry if I was on the coasts," said Klug, 34, who works with relatives at Michigan-based Klug Family Produce. "I would feel very concerned about that, knowing that you are the easy target on the edge unfortunately."

-- Kenneth Flowers, 63, a retired healthcare worker, said Americans will "wake up" if the war drags on for much longer. He believes Trump is looking for an exit -- not a ground war, an option he doubts other Republicans would support.

"I think the Republicans will turn against him, Americans won't stand for it," said Flowers as he sat on a bench in Centennial Olympic Park.

-- "I don't think it's gonna stop. I think this will go on for a long time," said Patrick Armstrong, 20, an AI engineer shopping at the Carlsbad mall. "I'm surprised they haven't dropped a nuclear bomb on them yet."

Some people glued to TV for war news, others tuning out

-- Carrie Sherk, who owns Sweetflower florist in Mead, said her husband spent 22 years in the Air Force and served in the Iraq War and that her household was attuned to the war with Iran.

"He's glued to the TV," she said of her husband. "It definitely hits close to home."

-- "Because we don't have missiles flying our way here at home, we don't see the actual consequences of what's really going on," said Anderson, the Clark Atlanta University student. "It doesn't feel like we're at war here."

-- Christyna Kay, a 38-year-old freelance entrepreneur, said her news consumption relies heavily on the algorithms of her TikTok and Instagram accounts, and the Iran war was not on the top of her list of international stories.

"I would like to watch news and be on social media, but I give myself a moment to cut that time off because I also need to live and enjoy my life," she said. "The fact that I'm aware of it is important to me... Do I deep dive? I have my limits."

-- "I feel like that's just the biggest topic of conversation," Klug said at the farmers market. "That's what a lot of people were talking about: Is it going to keep going? Is it going to stop? What's going on? What are we doing? Are we going to make everybody mad at us?"

-- Moran, the retired firefighter, said he has been following the war in Iran closely. He knows that his habit, which dates back decades, is not one shared by many younger people.

"My parents taught me from the time I was a kid: follow the news. That was like, you know, part of your obligation," he said. "I know other people don't like that, but... I've always been the kind of person who reads the paper every day."