Two protesters were executed early Tuesday amid heavy security deployment around Isfahan's Alikhani Square, where an scaffold had been erected and witnesses reported clashes between guards and people who gathered overnight amid fears of further executions.

Axar.az reports, citing Iran International, that Iran's judiciary news agency Mizan identified the men as Amirhossein Safari and Abolfazl Sepahi, saying the sentences were carried out early Tuesday local time.

The executions followed hours of growing concern after reports that an iron scaffold had been erected in Alikhani Square, where protests erupted on January 8.

Witness accounts circulating on social media described the area as being under heavy security throughout Monday night, with some reporting brief confrontations between security forces and people gathered near the square. Iran International could not independently verify the reports.

Twelve young men convicted in what became known as the Alikhani Square case were sentenced to death. Two of them—Golmohammad Mohammadi and Erfan Esfandiari—were executed on July 19.