AFP, Washington :US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew defended negotiations for a nuclear deal with Iran amid boos during a speech to a pro-Israel audience Sunday.Lew was interrupted several times by heckling from the audience at an annual New York conference sponsored by The Jerusalem Post as he laid out the US administration’s position on the nuclear negotiations.”A diplomatic solution is the best, most enduring path to achieve our goal of keeping Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon,” he said.”But we have also been clear, we remain steadfast in our determination to take any steps necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. That is not just important to Israel’s security but America’s security.”He rejected reports that Iran’s uranium stockpile has grown over the 18 months of the negotiations, and insisted that an interim agreement has succeeded in containing its nuclear program.Iran “has halted and scaled back key elements of its nuclear program. And we have gained unprecedented insight into Iran’s nuclear activities,” Lew said.The New York Times reported June 1 that international inspectors found that Iran’s stockpile of nuclear fuel increased about 20 percent over the past 18 months.
