Michael Crowley, politico.com
The success of the accord may now rest with the former secretary of state and Democratic frontrunner, who has long been more hawkish on Iran than Obama.
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Extract:
Current and former administration officials say Clinton and Obama worked in harmony on Iran while she was his top diplomat. But they also consider Clinton more distrustful than Obama of a possible thaw in U.S.-Iranian relations. ...
Even so, Clinton played a key role in launching Obama’s dialogue with Tehran. As she twisted arms to win support for sanctions at the U.N., Clinton secretly dispatched two key deputies — including her top campaign foreign policy adviser, Jake Sullivan — to test the waters for negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program. Those under-the-radar meetings, which remained secret for more than a year, laid the groundwork for the public diplomacy, which led to Tuesday’s deal. ...
Notably absent from Clinton’s rhetoric has been any hint that she sees Obama’s historic agreement as a possible first step toward restoring friendly relations between Washington and Tehran for the first time since the 1970s, a view held by some in the Obama administration.