Donald Trump plans to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and will announce plans to move the US embassy there from Tel Aviv, according to senior administration officials, defying fears among counterparts in the Middle East and elsewhere that such a move would threaten efforts to broker peace.

The president is expected to make the announcement on Wednesday in the face of warnings from the Palestinian and Jordanian leaders, among others, that a decision to move the embassy would have dangerous consequences.

The senior administration officials said the president viewed the move as recognition of a reality that the city was the seat of the Israeli government. Moving the US embassy is a project that will take years, the officials added, saying that it would be part of the state department’s task to find a site.