Iran carried out the executions of two men Tuesday for “waging war against God” and “corruption on earth” over their alleged participation in the January protests, at the same time that Iranian athletes are competing in the World Cup.

“The death sentences of Javad Zamani and Abolfazl Saedi, armed leaders of the January 2026 coup attempt, were carried out,” Mizan Online, the official media outlet of the judiciary, reported.

The two men were convicted on charges relating to “the deliberate destruction of public and private property with the intention of confronting the system of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the outlet said.

Executions of protesters and others charged with similar conduct have sharply increased since January, with yesterday’s executions bringing the total to 40 this year, including 18 protesters, according to human rights groups. Iran numbers second only to China in the number of people it executes per year.

Many of the people who were executed had ties to the protests, labeled by Iran as “foreign-instigated riots” and prompting the most brutal protest crackdown in Iran’s history. Human rights groups have alleged that the authoritarian regime has murdered more than 36,000 civilians.

Before the joint U.S.-Israel campaign against Iran that began on Feb. 28, the U.S. had demanded that Iran stop executing protesters to prevent an escalation by the U.S. Now with a deal being finalized between Iran and the United States, it appears that Iran’s executions are not on the table, allowing the regime to act against innocent civilians with impunity.