The world waits for Trump decision as B-2 bombers move into position

President caught between European diplomacy and risks of US military action

- Edward Helmore New York Jon Ungoed-Thomas & Oliver Marsden Beirut

Donald Trump's decision over whether to order US strikes against Iran remained in limbo yesterday, as the US president found himself caught between European-led diplomatic talks that show no signs of achieving an end to Iran's nuclear programme, a bunker-busting military plan with no guarantee of success, and a restive political base at home.

But the president still appears to have an appetite for the domestic, political and military risk for a Middle East war, despite its potent echoes of previous disastrous US regime change adventures in the region that he and his America First campaign explicitly reject.

Many Republicans, including former Fox host Tucker Carlson, former White House adviser Steve Bannon, and Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor-Greene, have warned that direct engagement in Iran could wreck the Maga coalition and derail the presidency.

Last week, in typical fashion, Trump proclaimed he would make a decision "within the next two weeks" - a timeline he has previously used for issues ranging from infrastructure policy to the war in Ukraine. The two-week window is seen by the UK government as a maximum, rather than a minimum. Yesterday's positioning of B-2 jets underscored this belief.

B-2 planes are the only planes that can carry the 13,700kg (30,000lb) "bunker busting" GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, the bombs that Trump is considering aiming at Iran's Fordow underground nuclear facility.