Stuart Levey stepping down as top Iran sanctions official

Stuart Levey, the Obama administration’s top Iran sanctions enforcement official, is leaving.

Stuart Levey, who has been a Treasury undersecretary since 2005, will leave in about a month, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

Levey, who is Jewish, devised a strategy of persuading not just governments but businesses to sanction the Islamic Republic for its defiance of international pressure to make its nuclear program more transparent.

He is a Republican, and President Obama’s decision to keep him on the job was seen as a sign that this administration was as committed to pressuring Iran as its GOP predecessors.

Levey did not say why he was departing, although the job and its travel requirements are known to be grueling.

The Obama administration is set to nominate David Cohen, Levey’s deputy and a longtime confidante, as his replacement, the Journal reported.