As president and commander in chief, I have no greater responsibility than the security of the American people, and I am convinced that if this framework leads to a final, comprehensive deal, it will make our country, our allies, and our world safer. This has been a long time coming.

The Islamic Republic of Iran has been advancing its nuclear program for decades. By the time I took office, Iran was operating thousands of centrifuges, which can produce the materials for a nuclear bomb. And Iran was concealing a covert nuclear facility.

I made clear that we were prepared to resolve this issue diplomatically, but only if Iran came to the table in a serious way.

When that did not happen, we rallied the world to impose the toughest sanctions in history, sanctions which had a profound impact on the Iranian economy.

Now, sanctions alone could not stop Iran's nuclear program, but they did help bring Iran to the negotiating table. Because of our diplomatic efforts, the world stood with us, and we were joined at the negotiating table by the world's major powers: the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia and China as well as the European Union.

The letter was a mistake for reasons both foreign and domestic.

It got in the way of a bipartisan effort led by Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) to pass a bill requiring the administration to submit any deal with Iran to Congress. The administration plans to make any deal with Iran by an “executive agreement,” which doesn't need congressional approval, rather than a treaty, which does. But Congress can still try to block an executive agreement.

With opposition to a nuclear agreement looking like a partisan campaign against Obama, even Democrats who say they're worried about the deal took a step back from Corker's proposal.

Indeed, the letter inadvertently strengthened the administration's argument against submitting an agreement to Congress. If Republicans have made up their minds even before a deal is struck, why bother?

“The best deal, I think, comes with a new president,” Graham said. “Hillary Clinton would do better. I think everybody on our side, except maybe Rand Paul, could do better.”

Graham said that Obama may have struck the best deal he could, but the senator argued the president was a “flawed negotiator.”

“His foreign policy has failed on multiple fronts,” Graham said. “Nobody in the region trusts him. The Iranians do not fear or respect him, so he’ll never be able to get the best deal.”

It was Sept. 27, 2013, and President Barack Obama was about to place a historic phone call to the president of Iran — a conversation that would kick off the public phase of nuclear talks between two longtime adversaries. (snip)

Eighteen months later, Sullivan’s attention to detail has paid off. In Switzerland on Thursday, officials from the U.S. and five other nations reached a framework deal to limit Iran’s nuclear program — vindicating, for the moment at least, Sullivan’s deep personal involvement in the process.

And thanks to Sullivan, the deal also bears the clear fingerprints of his political mentor, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who first assigned him to the Iran file and with whom he remains extremely close. Sullivan “was at my side nearly everywhere I went” as secretary of state, Clinton wrote in her memoir, “Hard Choices.”

(Reuters) - The Obama administration's plan for U.N. climate change talks encountered swift opposition after its release Tuesday, with Republican leaders warning other countries to "proceed with caution" in negotiations with Washington because any deal could be later undone.

The White House is seeking to enshrine its pledge in a global climate agreement to be negotiated Nov. 30 to Dec. 11 in Paris. It calls for cutting greenhouse gas emissions by close to 28 percent from 2005 levels within a decade, using a host of existing laws and executive actions targeting power plants, vehicles, oil and gas production and buildings.

But Republican critics say the administration lacks the political and legal backing to commit the United States to an international agreement.

"Considering that two-thirds of the U.S. federal government hasn't even signed off on the Clean Power Plan and 13 states have already pledged to fight it, our international partners should proceed with caution before entering into a binding, unattainable deal,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said.