Iran’s Supreme Leader awarded the commander of the Israeli strike

“Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei awarded the Fath Medal to General Amirali Hajizadeh, commander of the Aerospace Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC-AF),” the Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran announced today.

The Fath Medal is one of the highest awards of the Iranian armed forces, awarded by Iran’s Supreme Leader to soldiers who “won outstanding victories”. The medal is divided into three classes, featuring motifs of palm leaves, the dome of the mosque in Khorramshahr and the Iranian flag, symbolizing strength, faith and national pride.

General Hajizadeh, 62 years old, has been the leader of IRGC-AF since its establishment in 2009. Iranian media said he was the commander of the “True Promise 2” operation, an attack with nearly 200 people. ballistic fire aimed at Israel on October 1.

“True Promise 2” is the second time Iran has directly attacked Israeli territory within 6 months, after an attack with 300 missiles and drones in April.

Tehran said the operation was in retaliation for the deaths of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and IRGC brigadier general Abbas Nilforoushan. IRGC claimed 90% of missiles hit targets even though these places were protected by advanced air defense complexes.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced that they “intercepted the majority” of Iranian missiles. However, the IDF later admitted that some Iranian missiles hit the air base but did not cause damage to important infrastructure, combat vehicles or personnel.

The raid took place in the context of Iran-Israel tensions heating up after a series of events. Israel vowed to retaliate against Iran’s missile attack campaign at a time and place of its choosing.