The Trump administration is significantly more concerned with Iran's nuclear capabilities than the mass killings of protesters by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), US Vice President JD Vance said in a Wednesday interview on the Megyn Kelly Show.
"What the president has always been focused on, even with this most recent round of protests...is nuclear weapons," Vance told Kelly.
Asked how the administration juggles its "America First" domestic policy promises with pressing foreign policy issues, Vance claimed that the issue of Iran's nuclear arsenal is a domestic issue, as it pertains to the safety of US citizens.
Trump's "America First" directive, per the White House website, states that "the foreign policy of the United States shall champion core American interests and always put America and American citizens first."
According to Vance, much of Trump's foreign policy has focused on bolstering the US economy, which aligns with the goals of the "America First" platform.
"This president is much more focused on the home front than any president in my lifetime," said Vance.
Nuclear proliferation on a global scale
Regarding the president's plans for Iran, Vance stressed that Trump's priority has always been keeping Iran from amassing nuclear weapons.
"And it's not just [Iran]," he said, "if the Iranians get a nuclear weapon, you know who gets a nuclear weapon, like, the next day? The Saudi Arabians. And then somebody else... So you have nuclear proliferation on a global scale."
Vance added that the president had also worked with other nations, some allies of the US and others with more fraught relations, to avoid nuclear proliferation worldwide.
He then clarified that Trump had drawn a clear red line at Iran developing a nuclear weapon, and that the president would not allow such an eventuality.
"The president is going to keep his options open," Vance explained. "He's going to talk to everybody. He's going to try to accomplish what he can through non-military means. And if he feels like the military is the only option, then he's ultimately going to choose that option."
Vance also assured Kelly that Trump has no intention of entering into a "quagmire" - a term often used to describe the US military presence in Iraq in the early 2000s.
"You don't let crazy people get nuclear weapons," he emphasized.
Finally, Kelly pressed Vance for any word on whether or not the president intended to help the Iranian protesters overthrow the current regime.
"The president is very aware of all this," Vance replied. "But fundamentally, what the president has always been focused on, even with this most recent round of protests, is nuclear weapons. We are still focused on this question of ensuring they don't get a nuclear weapon."
The protests in Iran, which started in December over economic hardships and quickly turned political, were repressed in the most violent crackdown since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The official death toll stands at 3,117, although rights groups say many more people have been killed. US-based rights group HRANA has said that nearly 50,000 people have so far been arrested.
Reuters contributed to this report.