Acting Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman will lead a U.S. negotiating team that is set to meet with Iranian officials next week, ahead of more high-level talks on Iran's nuclear program.
The State Department says the U.S.-Iranian talks will take place on Monday and Tuesday in Geneva, where Iran and a group of world powers will hold negotiations on Wednesday.
These talks are the first since Iran and the world powers failed to reach an agreement last month to ensure the country's atomic program is peaceful, in exchange for easing sanctions that have hurt Iran's economy. The two sides agreed to extend the talks through June 30 of next year.
The United States and its allies suspect Iran is working toward developing a nuclear weapon. Iran insists its atomic program is only for peaceful, civilian purposes such as medical research and generating power.
The world powers participating are Germany and the five permanent U.N. Security Council members: the U.S., Britain, France, Russia and China. The group is known as the P5 + 1.
