10. februar 2012, 13:30 – opdateret 10. februar 2012, 13:40

An overwhelming majority of Danish voters believe that Iran's President Ahmadinejad is lying when he claims that his country's nuclear programme is only being developed for peaceful means.

In a new Yougov poll for free daily metroXpress, three out of four say there's 'no doubt' that Iran is working on a nuclear weapons. At the same time, the poll also finds that Danes are willing to go farther than allies such as the USA, Great Britain, Germany, Finland and Norway to stop Ahmadinejad from putting nuclear warheads on long-range missiles - 27 per cent say they would be ready to send Danish troops to war against Iran.

Military expert Peter Viggo Jacobsen of the Danish Military Academy said the 'lust for war' comes as no surprise. "Since the fall of the Berlin Wall Denmark has experienced a shift in foreign and security policy, " he said. "From being sceptical about military intervention we've adopted a more activist line in which it's legitimate to employ power if it serves Danish interests such as preventing terrorism, as in Afghanistan, or humanitarian purposes, as in Libya."

The indication that Danes are more willing to get involved in a land war in Iran than the British or Americans is a sign of 'war fatigue' in these two countries, according to Mr Jacobsen: " Brits and Americans know who'd have to bear the biggest burden. Denmark would send around 200 troops while they'd send thousands and suffer massive human and financial costs."

Former Socialist People's Party leader Holger K. Nielsen said he was surprised that so many people in this country are supportive of military intervention. "People have become convinced over the past decade that all problems can be solved by military power, but that's not the solution in Iran and it would fail miserably," he said. "There's no alternative to economic and diplomatic sanctions coupled with negotiations."