Iran's judiciary chief has vowed decisive punishment for protesters, signaling a coming crackdown against demonstrations.

Protesters were "ruining their own streets" to please President Donald Trump, who has threatened intervention, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Friday.

Many Iranian opposition activists are hoping the current unrest could be the beginning of the end of the country's hardline Islamic regime.

Iran’s regime is accused of importing foreign militias to crush protests, as experts warn the move marks a dangerous escalation to suppress domestic unrest.

Protests fueled by crippling economic conditions have swept across Iran’s provinces in recent days, as authorities revert to their tested playbook of cracking down without offering viable solutions to grievances driving public anger.

The protests have “convulsed Iran for a week,” The New York Times said, and while not yet as large as the “last two major uprisings — one in 2022 led by women and another in 2019 set off by gasoline prices — they have rattled senior officials.”