On the brink of war or edging closer to peace.. the clock is ticking on Trump's fortnight of fear

HE PROMISED to be a peacemaker president who would not take America into more foreign wars, but Donald Trump could be two weeks away from joining Israel's strikes against Iran.

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The world now faces an anxious countdown for a diplomatic solution.

At home, with his own MAGA movement vocally divided, Trump has defaulted to his favoured fortnight; his preferred unit of time when confronted with big decisions.

Although the President is ribbed for regularly plucking “two weeks” out of the air and rarely sticking to it, I for one feel a huge sense of relief that Trump is playing for time. The stakes are high with huge implications for Britain's peace and security.

The United States is weighing up whether to take direct military action to obliterate Iran's underground nuclear facilities. A complex called Fordo built deep into an Iranian mountain has protection from airstrikes and only the US is capable of destroying it with its supply of “bunker-buster” bombs.

While it waits in hope for US military backing, Israel's relentless airstrikes have already struck over a thousand targets in just over a week since mounting its largest ever attack on Iran. Viewed as a surprise assault, Israel is further ahead than it expected to be, having killed many senior military figures in the first 24 hours and nuclear scientists.

Iran, of course, is not taking this lying down. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants Trump to join his war effort, which in turn would put pressure on the UK to be a supportive junior partner to our American allies.

Wisely, the UK has called for de-escalation in the region. Dialogue and diplomacy have worked before, notably when President Obama signed a deal with Iran in 2015 to slam the brakes on its nuclear ambitions.