U.S. President Donald Trump [Reuters=Yonhap News]

U.S. President Donald Trump said on the 13th (local time) that if the Iranian government executes anti-government protesters, "we will take very strong action," not ruling out military operations.

In an interview with U.S. CBS Broadcasting on the same day, Trump responded to the question, "I heard Iran is going to execute protesters tomorrow (14th). Have they crossed your red line?" by saying, "I haven't heard about any executions," and made the remarks.

When asked about the ultimate step of taking very strong action, Trump said, "It's winning. I like to win."

He also referred to recent events as examples of "winning": the expulsion of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro through military action, the operation to assassinate Qassem Soleimani, former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' elite Quds Force, during his first term, and the surprise attack on Iran's nuclear facilities last year.

These were all "surgical" surprise military operations, which is interpreted as a hint at the possibility of military intervention against the Iranian leadership.

Earlier, Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, stating, "I have canceled all meetings with Iranian officials until they stop the indiscriminate killing of protesters. Help is on the way."

In the same post, Trump encouraged strong protests by saying, "Patriots of Iran, keep protesting. Occupy your (government) institutions," while also warning the Iranian leadership, "Name those who kill and abuse you. They will pay a heavy price."

When asked about the meaning of "help is on the way" for Iranian anti-government protesters in his social media post, Trump replied, "A lot of help is going in various forms. From our perspective, it also includes economic assistance."

He added, "I don't know the actual situation right now. No one has given me the exact number of people they have killed," and "It seems like a considerable number, and that will be a big problem for them."

Regarding the criticism that he is focusing on foreign issues rather than domestic problems, Trump said, "My main concern is right here," adding, "But we must not forget the dangerous threats."

He continued, "We must not forget a nuclear-armed Iran in the future. We must not forget that there is immense wealth in the Middle East," and "I am very focused on this country, but we cannot overlook the fact that peace is needed worldwide. I have ended eight wars. If those eight wars had continued, it would have been very bad for this country."

Regarding his recent statement in a New York Times interview that only his morality can limit his actions and authority on international issues, Trump said, "I am a moral person. I don't like seeing death. I don't like seeing our people get hurt, and I don't like seeing the other side get hurt."

He added, "In Venezuela, no one died on our side, but many died on the other side. I don't like that."

Trump met with reporters at Andrews Joint Base on his way back to Washington D.C. after a visit to Detroit, stating that he would have an exact number of protesters killed by the Iranian government within 20 minutes. He said, "It seems to be a considerable scale, but we don't know for sure yet," and "I will know within 20 minutes, and I will act accordingly," according to the White House press corps.

When asked for a message to the Iranian leaders, he said, "They need to show a human side," adding, "I will be briefed very soon, and in my opinion, they are acting very wrongly."

Regarding Iran's threats of retaliation if attacked by the U.S., Trump warned, "Iran said that last time as well when I hit their nuclear facilities, which are no longer there," and "They should behave themselves."