Lew was speaking in favor of a possible deal between Iran and the P5+1 on Sunday, while he was being booed and heckled by the audience.
"A diplomatic solution is the best, most enduring path to achieve our goal of keeping Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon," he said at an annual New York conference sponsored by The Jerusalem Post.
This snapback mechanism will give us crucial leverage to ensure that Iran remains in compliance for years after any agreement is reached, he added.
Iran and the P5+1 group the US, Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany reached a landmark framework agreement over Tehrans nuclear program in Switzerland on April 2. The two sides will now work to draft a final accord by the end of June.
Lew also said that Iran's uranium stockpile has not grown over the 18 months of the negotiations. "Even though Iran's stockpile of uranium has gone up and down at various times over the past 18 months, this was something we anticipated and at each of the deadlines that have been set, Iran's uranium stockpile levels have been within the levels that were agreed to."
However, he said that no deal will be finalized unless it meets a tough standard of intense verification and scrutiny.
If Iran fails to comply with the terms of the potential deal, the US will use other options, including economic and military measure, the secretary noted.
Lews comments came as Israeli officials are calling on Washington to soften the June 30 deadline because they argue that it is inadvertently providing Tehran leverage in the negotiations.
Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz, a former intelligence minister and a high-ranking Likud Party member, has claimed that The Iranians are using delay tactics. It seems they want to come close to the deadline without an agreement.
In response to a campaign waged by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to hamper a nuclear deal with Tehran, President Barack Obama said last Friday that a verifiable, tough, agreement" would be the best way to address the issue.
By Press TV
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