Kerry, Lew To Address AIPAC

WASHINGTON -- US Secretary of State John Kerry and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew will both address the American Israel Public Affairs Committee during their headline policy conference next week.

"The two influential Cabinet secretaries are leading the Administration's efforts to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon," AIPAC said in a statement. "Secretary Kerry is also leading the United States’s effort to achieve peace between the Israelis and Palestinians."

Kerry is expected to defend the Obama administration's diplomatic push with Iran, after blunting an aggressive effort by AIPAC to push a new sanctions package against Iran through the Senate throughout the fall.

The Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act of 2013 would have triggered new sanctions tools against Iran should negotiations fail to produce a comprehensive deal on its nuclear program within a year.

While the bill had 59 cosponsors across party lines, US President Barack Obama threatened to veto it if passed, warning it could act as a subterfuge in their efforts to reach a peaceful solution to the crisis. At risk of becoming a partisan bill, AIPAC retreated on the bill earlier this month.

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http://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-Politics/Kerry-Lew-to-address-AIPAC-342411