In announcing on Tuesday he would seek the presidency, Sen. Rand Paul tried to present himself as supporting a harder line against Iran. But his record on sanctions against the Islamic regime places him a lot closer to President Obama than he let on.

The biggest obstacle that the Kentucky Republican is facing as a presidential candidate is that his core supporters come from the non-interventionist strain of foreign policy that fueled his father Ron Paul’s presidential runs, but he’s seeking votes from a Republican electorate that’s generally more hawkish, and angered by Obama’s nuclear diplomacy with Iran. So he’s trying to strike a balance.