WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Obama administration's lead nuclear negotiator is leaving her post this summer, by which point the U.S. hopes to have reached an accord with Iran.


State Department officials say undersecretary Wendy Sherman will leave when nuclear talks are complete. Negotiators are hoping to clinch a deal with Iran by June 30.


Sherman has led much of the technical discussions in Europe with Iranian officials over the last two years. During her tenure the U.S. and Iran reached an interim agreement in November 2013 and a framework pact in April.


Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday called Sherman a "critical" member of his team, hailing her "tenacity and skill."


Sherman's upcoming departure was reported first by The New York Times.


 

By AP