Tehran, Iran, July 3
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A senior Iranian official said the US will be soon pushed out of the eastern side of the Euphrates River.
“America will soon have to leave the eastern side of the Euphrates River (which flows from Turkey through Syria and into Iraq) soon,” Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior advisor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on international affairs, said on July 3, Tasnim news agency reported.
He made the remark in a meeting with Syrian Minister of Higher Education Atef Nadaf in Tehran on Tuesday.
Hailing the latest achievements by Syrian troops in southern Syria, he said, “The main enemies of Iran and Syria, namely the US, Israel and regional reactionary states, continue their enmities towards the sovereign government and nation of Syria”.
Velayati further said the US has stationed thousands of its forces in the eastern side of the Euphrates River without getting a UN mandate or receiving a request of help from the Syrian government.
“Undoubtedly, the recent victory of the Syrian army in south of the country will be a starting point for your future victories in the eastern Euphrates (region) and the withdrawal of the US from this region,” he added.
Nadaf, for his part, thanked Iran for helping Syria in the ongoing war against rebel groups.
Tehran has always expressed support for the Syrian government since it sees President Bashar Assad's regime as its main strategic ally in the region and as a part of the "axis of resistance" against Israel.