TEHRAN: Iran’s supreme leader has decorated the Revolutionary Guards aerospace commander for the Islamic republic’s missile attacks on arch-foe the Zionist entity, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s website said on Sunday. “Ayatollah Khamenei presented the Order of Fath (Conquest) to General Amir Ali 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 the Zionist entity in retaliation for a Zionist air strike that killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and IRGC top general Abbas Nilforoushan in Beirut. It was also in retaliation for the killing of Palestinian Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on July 31 in Tehran.

It was Iran’s second direct attack on the Zionist entity in six months, after a missile and drone assault in April in retaliation for a deadly strike on Iran’s consulate in Damascus. The Zionist entity has vowed to respond after Tuesday’s Iranian missile attack. Flights from all Iran’s airports will be canceled until 6 am local time on Monday from 9 pm

on Sunday, Iran’s state media said, citing a spokesperson for Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization. The flights have been canceled due to operational restrictions, state media cited the spokesperson as saying.

Local media reported on Sunday Iran has prepared a plan to respond to a possible Zionist attack. “The plan for the necessary response to a possible action by the Zionists has been fully prepared,” Tasnim news agency said, quoting “an informed source” in the armed forces. “If (the Zionist entity) takes action, there will be no doubt that an Iranian counterattack will be carried out,” said Tasnim.

It added that Iran “has a list of many (Zionist) targets”, and said Iran’s attack on Tuesday “showed that we can level to the ground any place it desires”. On Saturday, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned of a “proportional and similar reaction from Iran, and even stronger” if the Zionist entity attacks.

On Sunday, Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad visited a key oil site in the Gulf, amid growing concerns over possible Zionist strikes on Iran’s oil facilities. On Thursday, US President Joe Biden said he was “in discussions” with the Zionist entity about possible strikes on oil facilities in Iran, one of the world’s 10 largest oil producers. Following the statement, oil prices surged. But on Friday Biden advised the Zionist entity against striking Iran’s oil facilities, telling it to find “other alternatives”.

Paknejad arrived at the Kharg Island oil facilities in the morning and met with employees, his ministry’s news agency, SHANA, reported. “We are not afraid that our enemies will ignite a crisis, and visiting the region is a normal business trip,” Paknejad said on state television. Kharg Island, located on the Gulf, is home to Iran’s largest crude oil export terminal.

During his visit, Paknejad also met with Mohammad Hossein Bargahi, the Guards’ naval commander for the region, IRNA state news agency reported. Paknejad hailed the Guards for “continuous efforts in maintaining the security” of Iranian oil platforms in the Gulf, the agency added.

Iran is a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) with production of around 3.2 million barrels per day (bpd), or 3 percent of global output. Iranian oil exports have climbed this year to near multi-year highs of 1.7 million bpd despite US sanctions. China, which does not recognize US sanctions, is Tehran’s biggest oil customer and according to analysts imported 1.2 to 1.4 million barrels per day from Iran in the first half of 2024. – Agencies