Trump warns U.S. “will take very strong action” if Iran hangs protesters

President Trump threatened to “take very strong action” if Iranian authorities begin hanging anti-government protesters this week.

“We will take very strong action. If they do such a thing, we will take very strong action,” Mr. Trump told “CBS Evening News” anchor Tony Dokoupil during an exclusive network interview in Dearborn, Michigan, airing Tuesday night. 

Mr. Trump said he’s aware a “pretty substantial number” of people have been killed over the more than two weeks of demonstrations. Sources tell CBS News at least 12,000 — and possibly upwards of 20,000 — are now feared dead, as videos show body bags lined up at a morgue in Tehran.

In a social media post Tuesday, Mr. Trump warned Iranian officials will “pay a big price” for any violence and promised Iranian citizens that “HELP IS ON ITS WAY.” He said he would cancel all meetings with Iranian officials until the killings stopped.

During the interview, Mr. Trump reiterated that “there’s a lot of help on the way” for Iranian citizens, saying it’s being offered in “different forms,” including economic assistance. He mentioned the U.S. airstrikes last year targeting three of Iran’s nuclear facilities, but offered no other specifics.

When asked what his end game is in Iran, the president said: “The end game is to win. I like winning.” 

Asked what “winning” means, he ticked off a list of military operations from his first and second terms: the recent capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, the 2019 Syria raid that culminated in the death of ISIS founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and the 2020 assassination of Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds military force.

He continued: “We don’t want to see what’s happening in Iran happen. And you know, if they want to have protests, that’s one thing, when they start killing thousands of people, and now you’re telling me about hanging — we’ll see how that works out for them. It’s not going to work out good.”

Watch more of Tony Dokoupil’s interview with President Trump on “CBS Evening News” tonight at 6:30 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount+. The full interview will also be posted to CBSNews.com and the CBS Evening News YouTube channel.