The United States and Iran held “good and useful” bilateral meetings in Geneva on Aug. 7, an Iranian official said, as the United States announced that two key officials who had been due to step down shortly will continue to work on US efforts to reach an Iran nuclear deal this fall.

Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns and Jake Sullivan, Vice President Joe Biden’s national security advisor, will stay on as special government employees to work to reach a comprehensive Iran nuclear accord after they leave their current posts in the coming weeks, State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said Aug. 7. Sullivan is due to leave his job in Biden’s office shortly to teach at Yale Law School, while Burns is due to retire as deputy secretary in October after a three-decade diplomatic career.

The decision shows the Obama administration is "very serious about getting a deal done by November 24," a senior US official, speaking not for attribution, told Al-Monitor. "They are not letting anybody get out. It's all hands on deck."

"Given the important role Burns and Sullivan have played in the negotiations, especially in the bilateral channel, and given the desire to make a maximum effort to wrap up the talks by the end of the four-month extension, it makes good sense for them to participate in the next critical few months," former State Department Iran arms control advisor Robert Einhorn told Al-Monitor.

Diplomats from Iran and the six world powers (P5+1) decided last month to extend the deadline for reaching a comprehensive nuclear deal to Nov. 24.