Anti-government protests are escalating across Iran and have continued for the 13th consecutive day.

According to foreign media outlets on Friday, demonstrators in the capital, Tehran, called for the ouster and even the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The protesters also demanded the return of Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the late former shah, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, who was toppled in the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The late shah’s son, who lives in Washington, has urged Iranians to “take to the streets” and form a united front.

The anti-state demonstrations began in Tehran on December 28 and spread nationwide as public anger intensified over the collapse of the Iranian currency and sharp inflation.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activist News Agency said at least 62 people, including civilians, troops and police officers, have been killed.

Khamenei called the protesters “troublemakers” and blamed the U.S. for instigating the unrest. 

He also said he would not back down.

U.S. President Donald Trump, for his part, said the U.S. would hit the Iranian authorities very hard where it hurts should they start killing people, but that U.S. involvement does not necessarily mean “boots on the ground.”