When US-Israeli military strikes on Iran shifted to energy production facilities, the war entered an entirely new phase, with the United States hastening its descent into a quagmire. 

A global online poll conducted by CGTN shows that 94.1% of respondents believe the military strikes against Iran will accelerate the decline of US hegemony. Hampered by vague war objectives and constrained by limited resources and time, the structural predicament of US policy in the Middle East has become increasingly evident.

According to data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the affected regions already host nearly 25 million refugees, internally displaced persons and returnees.

In addition, a large number of innocent civilians in Iran have been killed or injured, while approximately 800,000 people in Lebanon have been displaced. The UNHCR has declared the ongoing crisis in the Middle East a "major humanitarian emergency." 

In the poll, 90.9% of respondents believe that the United States' military strike against Iran represents a resurgence of US "state terrorism." Meanwhile, 93.8% agree the strikes on Iran seriously lack legitimacy and justification. Moreover, 89.1% view the US war efforts as an attempt to preserve the US dollar's hegemony and plunder Iran's oil resources.

According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a US think tank, the war is costing about 890 million dollars per day. In the survey, 75.2% of respondents believe the enormous military expenditure would accelerate the decline of the US economy at home. Beyond the huge costs, the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz has caused global oil prices to surge and financial markets to tumble, hitting multiple industries in the US and putting continued strain on its economy. 

In this regard, 91.8% of respondents believe that by launching a costly war with uncertain prospects of success while domestic issues like the debt ceiling remain unresolved, the US will only deepen its social divisions and partisan confrontation. Meanwhile, 90.8% believe the US has once again fallen into the quagmire of war in the Middle East, and the negative spillover effects of the conflict are becoming increasingly evident.

The US has called on its traditional allies to join a coalition to escort vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, but its allies have responded with mixed attitudes. According to the poll, 88.7% of respondents believe that this move by the United States will further accelerate divisions within its alliance system, including within NATO, and deepen many long-standing underlying tensions. 

Since the beginning of this year, the US has fueled geopolitical crises in multiple regions around the world, and multiple military operations it has participated in or led continue to escalate. The poll finds that 94.6% of respondents agree this once again proves the US is a truly belligerent nation. Meanwhile, 94.4% believe the US global leadership and credibility are rapidly declining.

The survey was published on CGTN's English, Spanish, French, Arabic and Russian platforms, and within 24 hours, 18,906 netizens participated in the survey and expressed their opinions.