Supreme Leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has awarded “Medals of Conquest” to the chief commanders of the Army and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).

According to The Iran Project,Ayatollah Khamenei awarded the medals to the Army’s Chief Commander Major General Abdurrahim Mousavi and the IRGC Chief Commander Major General Hossein Salami during a ceremony on Monday.

The commanders were awarded over their performance in boosting the Iranian armed forces’ defense and combat power as well as their deterrence.

On Saturday, the Supreme Leader, who is the commander-in-chief of the Iranian armed forces, also awarded the same medal to the IRGC in a show of approving the elite force.

“Today, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution gave the Corps a clear symbol of his satisfaction with all the endeavors of the Corps, awarding a Medal of Conquest to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps,” Salami said.  

The Medal of Conquest is a symbol of victorious operations by the Iranian armed forces whom are referred to as “fighters of Islam” in the Islamic Republic.

The medal consists of a ribbon colored in the Iranian flag’s colors, with the Islamic Republic’s emblem in the middle. The ribbon is attached by three palm leaves over the arch of the Grand Mosque of the city of Khorramshahr. The arch has the three colors of the Iranian flag, namely green, white and red, with the word of Fath meaning “conquest” being engraved in the red part.

The city of Khorramshahr is located in the southwestern province of Khuzestan and is known for its strong resistance during the eight-year war imposed by the former Iraqi Baath regime in the 1980s.