DAVIE, Fla. (AP) — Exploring a presidential campaign, Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday offered a robust defense of a nuclear accord with Iran strongly backed by the White House, the latest sign of his work to present himself as a natural heir to President Barack Obama.

"I tell you, I firmly believe, and I will go into some detail here, it will make us and Israel safer, not weaker," Biden said at a round-table discussion alongside Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., chair of the Democratic National Committee, who remains uncommitted on the pact.

Biden sought to allay concerns of South Florida Jewish leaders who fear Iran won too many concessions in the agreement, which seeks to curb the country's nuclear program in exchange for hundreds of billions of dollars in relief from international sanctions. It followed an education event in Miami on Wednesday in which he promoted Obama's plans to address college affordability and middle-class economics.

As Biden considers a late entry into the Democratic presidential primaries, he faces a field that has been dominated by former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who has backed the Iran deal and often credits Obama for helping rescue the nation from recession, and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, whose anti-establishment message has emphasized economic inequality. Sanders, who also supports the Iran deal, frequently notes his opposition to the 2002 Iraq war resolution.

Clinton has locked up much of the Democratic establishment, and few have expected Biden to enter the race, up until now. But the former New York senator's recent slide in primary polls and questions surrounding her use of a private email account and server at the State Department have led to Biden's deliberations.

If Biden joined the field, he would be closely associated with Obama, who maintains strong support among rank-and-file Democrats. But the vice president has also signaled he would seek to champion progressive policies. He met privately at his official Washington residence with Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a favorite of liberals, and has held talks with AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, whom he will join at a Labor Day event in Pittsburgh on Monday.

In Florida, Biden defended the Iran deal and will do likewise at a Thursday evening speech in Atlanta, aligning himself with Obama on a foreign policy milestone that is expected to be part of the 2016 presidential debates.

Republicans warn that the agreement will ultimately empower Tehran and have sought to thwart it. In a sign of the controversy, Biden's motorcade passed by hundreds of protesters outside the Jewish community center where he spoke.

Wasserman Schultz said she still has questions about the agreement and was consulting widely, including with Biden, before announcing her intentions. "This is a decision not only to be made based on your head but one that will be made with my Jewish heart," she said. She told reporters that Biden's 2016 considerations did not come up during the meeting, part of which was closed to reporters.

Biden offered a lengthy defense of the pact, saying it would "take the nuclear bomb off the table" and allow for inspections for years to come. "This is a good deal," he said.

At one point, Biden said he thinks of the consequences every day and pulled out a card that he keeps in his suit pocket — "because every life matters, because of my son" — with a daily update of the number of U.S. troops serving overseas, counts of soldiers killed or wounded and the miles he has traveled as vice president — 992,894 as of Thursday. Biden's 46-year-old son, Beau Biden, an Iraq war veteran, died in May.

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