Welcome to our live coverage of the escalating situation in the Middle East.

Overnight, Donald Trump has dramatically stepped back from the brink as Britain prepared to take part in peace talks with Iran.

In the previous 48 hours, the US President had demanded Iran’s “unconditional surrender” and threatened air strikes “in days”.

However, after spending the afternoon locked away in the White House Situation Room, he said he would give Tehran two weeks in which to make a deal.

This comes as Israel’s Defence Minister warned that Iran’s supreme leader “can no longer be allowed to exist” after a hospital was hit in an Iranian missile strike on Thursday, spiking tensions in the week-old war.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran would “pay a heavy price” for the hospital strike, while Defence Minister Israel Katz issued a stark warning for supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“Khamenei openly declares that he wants Israel destroyed – he personally gives the order to fire on hospitals,” Mr Katz told reporters.

“He considers the destruction of the state of Israel to be a goal. Such a man can no longer be allowed to exist.”