Top Iranian official wants U.S. forces driven from east Syria

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The top adviser to Iran's supreme leader said on Thursday he hoped Syria's army and its allies would drive U.S. troops out of eastern Syria, and take Idlib in the northwest from insurgents.

"Idlib is an important Syrian city, and we hope it will be liberated very soon," Ali Akbar Velayati told a news conference in Damascus. "East of the Euphrates is also a very important area. We hope big steps will be taken in order to liberate this area and expel the occupying Americans."

(Reporting by Ellen Francis and Tom Perry; editing by John Stonestreet)