Iran official hopes Syria expels US 'occupiers'
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An aide to Iran's supreme leader says he hopes Syrian forces will "expel the American occupiers" in the country's northeast after they retake other areas of the country from insurgents.
Ali Akbar Velayati, speaking in the Syrian capital on Thursday, said he visited eastern Ghouta a day earlier, calling the capture of the Damascus suburbs one of the most important victories of the seven-year civil war.
Iran is a key ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad and has sent thousands of troops and allied militiamen to support his forces.
Velayati said he hoped the northern Idlib province, which is dominated by al-Qaida militants would be the next to fall to government forces. He said Assad's forcers should then push east of the Euphrates River, where US troops are embedded with Kurdish forces.
He said: "We are hopeful that major and extensive steps are taken later to liberate this area and expel the American occupiers."
