Trump's pause on Iran can avoid complete chaos

PERHAPS not the Cuban Missile Crisis but global attention was firmly fixed on the Middle East last week as the world waited to see if America would bomb Iran amid fears it could trigger a wider regional war.

- By Tobias Ellwood

Just two weeks ago, Washington was engaged in quiet talks with Tehran. Today, an eye-watering arsenal of military might is on standby to strike. But instead of pressing the green light, President Trump has hit pause.

How did tensions escalate so quickly? It began at the end of May, when the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency reported that Iran had once again been enriching uranium. The country now possesses over 400 kilograms enriched to 60%. If further refined to weapons-grade a process that could take just months Iran would have enough material to build at least nine 25-kiloton bombs, each roughly one-third the power of the Hiroshima bomb.

America saw no evidence that Iran was moving up a gear. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu interpreted things differently. He ordered a major preemptive strike aimed at diminishing Iran's weapons programme. Tehran, predictably, responded with its own missile attack on Israel, forcing America to publicly declare its support for Netanyahu.

The Trump social media machine was revved up, calling for "unconditional surrender" and urging all residents to leave Tehran.