Anti-government protests in Iran appeared to accelerate, sparked by economic woes and disillusionment with Tehran's clerical leaders.

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

Iran’s government has cut off the country from the internet and international telephone calls. The move Thursday night comes after nighttime demonstration called by the exiled crown prince drew a mass of protesters to shout from their windows and storm the streets.

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.”

Iran says it has hanged a man who spied for Israel and is ready for a new military confrontation as it struggles to tamp down domestic unrest.