As Iran's exiled crown prince predicts his imminent return, the Islamic Republic shirks Trump's warnings and threatens protesters with maximum punishment.

U.S. President Donald Trump issued a new warning to Iran's leaders on Friday as videos showed anti-government protests raging across the country, and authorities blacked out the internet to curb growing unrest.

Iran's anti-government protests enter day 13 with reported death toll of 51, including 9 children, as demonstrations spread nationwide against the regime.

Protests in Iran are intensifying due to the country's struggling economy, putting pressure on its theocracy as it has shut down the internet and telephone networks.

Iranian authorities appear to be unusually restrained in reacting to mass protests, a possible result of Donald Trump's threat to intervene.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei strikes a defiant tone against the U.S. after a night of massive anti-government protests.

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

The Iranian army said on Saturday it would safeguard strategic infrastructure and public property and urged Iranians to thwart "the enemy's plots", as the clerical establishment steps up efforts to quell the country's biggest protests in years.

Two ships from Iran — the destroyer Jamaran and the warship Mahdavai — have arrived at Cape Town, as has the Russian destroyer Stoikiy, the South African National Defence Force said in a statement late Friday.

Iranian protests sparked by a currency collapse evolved into a broader uprising demanding regime overthrow, with demonstrators torching government buildings across provinces.