New Delhi, Jan. 11 -- US President Donald Trump issued warnings to Iran's leadership, saying Washington would intervene if Iranian authorities used lethal force against demonstrators as nationwide protests over economic hardship entered their second week.

"I tell the Iranian leaders - you better not start shooting because we'll start shooting, too," Trump said on Friday (January 9) during a meeting with oil executives.

The warning comes amid Iran's biggest unrest in three years, with demonstrations spreading across multiple provinces and reports of dozens of deaths as rallies turned violent.

Iran's Prosecutor General Mohammad Movahedi Azad escalated the government's response on Saturday (January 10), warning that anyone participating i...