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US sanctions expert to leave as Iran talks extended

State Department Iran sanctions official Richard Nephew is among the US officials expected to leave as Iran talks are extended, but Wendy Sherman will stay on as the lead US Iran negotiator.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius (3rd L), EU envoy Catherine Ashton (6th L), U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (3rd R) and Britain's Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond (front L) sit a a table during talks in Vienna November 21, 2014. Iran, the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China began the final round of negotiations on a nuclear deal on Tuesday. Officials close to the talks have said the two sides are unlikely to secure a final agreement and may need to extend the negotiations.  R

With the decision last week to extend the Iran nuclear deal talks for another seven months, some key members of the US negotiating team, including the State Department’s deputy sanctions chief Richard Nephew, are moving on.

But Undersecretary of State Wendy Sherman will stay on as the lead US Iran negotiator, and US officials said some attrition on the team is normal given the grueling nature of the negotiations, which have been underway mostly in Europe for over the past year, and have now been extended until June 30, 2015.

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