Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, awarded General Amirali Hajizadeh the Order of Fath for leading the Revolutionary Guards aerospace unit in a missile operation against Israel. The attack was in retaliation for an Israeli air strike that killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and IRGC top general Abbas Nilforoushan.

"Ayatollah Khamenei presented the Order of Fath ("Conquest" in Farsi) to General Amirali Hajizadeh, commander of the Guards Aerospace Force," it said.

The decoration was bestowed because of "the brilliant 'Honest Promise' operation", the website said.

Hajizadeh, 62, has headed the Guards aerospace unit since its creation in 2009.

On Tuesday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) fired some 200 missiles at Israel in retaliation for an Israeli air strike that killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and IRGC top general Abbas Nilforoushan in Beirut.

It was Iran's second direct attack on Israel in six months, after a missile and drone assault in April in retaliation for a deadly strike on Iran's consulate in Damascus, which Tehran blamed on Israel.

Israel has vowed to respond after Tuesday's Iranian missile attack.

Agencies