Khoy Bazaar located in northwestern Iran. Photo: Wikipedia.

Israel may be its lougest critic, but very few Iranians blame the Jewish state for the debilitating sanctions that have been imposed on the country because of its nuclear program, a Gallup poll revealed this week.

With talks between the six major powers and Iran set to resume in Geneva Thursday, new poll numbers show that Iranians hold the U.S. chiefly responsible for the sanctions, with nearly half of Iranians (46%) pinning these sanctions on the U.S.

Another 13% consider their own government most responsible, followed by 9% who blame Israel, and 6% each who blame Western European countries and the United Nations.

More than four in five (85%) in Iran now say international sanctions have hurt their own livelihoods, including 50% who say they have been hurt a great deal.

Despite the perceived economic toll, two in three (68%) Iranians say their country should continue to develop nuclear power despite the scale of sanctions against Iran.

Results are based on telephone interviews with 4,507 adults, aged 15 and older, conducted Dec. 16, 2011-Jan. 10, 2012; Nov. 6- Dec. 11, 2012; and May 24-June 6, 2013.