Only 23% of registered American voters were able to correctly identify Iran on an unlabeled world map, according to a poll from Morning Consult and Politico.
Why it matters: Voters' inability to pick out Iran on the map highlights their relative unfamiliarity with foreign countries — even after decades of conflicts and tensions with the U.S. in the region.
- Things didn't get much better on a smaller scale as just 28% of voters were able to place Iran on an unlabeled map of the Middle East.
- 8% of voters thought Iraq was Iran on the regional map.
The state of play: On Morning Consult's global map, voters' responses were spread across the globe. While the Middle East saw definite clustering, some respondents believed — among dozens of wild responses — that Iran was located in:
- The U.S.
- Canada
- Spain
- Russia
- Brazil
- Australia
- The middle of the Atlantic Ocean
The big picture: The death of Iran's top general Qasem Soleimani in a U.S. airstrike has refreshed focus and attention on the region as tensions between the two countries remain high.
- 47% of voters surveyed supported Trump's decision to strike Soleimani, compared to 40% who did not — a result that broke largely along party lines.
- Morning Consult noted that there were no statistical differences in support for the strike among those who could or could not identify Iran on a map.
Go deeper: Signs of respite with Iran despite Trump's red line
