DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — People in Iran’s capital shouted from their homes and rallied in the street Thursday night after a call by the country’s exiled crown prince for a mass demonstration, witnesses said, a new escalation in the protests that have spread nationwide across the Islamic Republic.

A decade after Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates led a joint military campaign to curb Iran’s influence in Yemen, the two allies now find themselves pitted against each other there.

The anti-government protests that erupted in Iran on the 28th of last month have escalated into the worst possible scenario, with a violent crackdown by authorities. French newspaper Le Monde, the British BBC,

Iran’s judiciary chief vowed Friday that punishment for protesters ’“will be decisive, maximum and without any legal leniency.” The comment, reported by Iranian state television, came from Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei.