The US military is continuing a significant buildup of air and naval assets in the Middle East ahead of planned talks with Iran in Geneva on Tuesday. The pieces are being moved into place both to intimidate Tehran and to have options to strike inside the country should negotiations over its nuclear program fail,

Trump been ratcheting up threats against Iran over the past several weeks, urging a nuclear deal and increasing U.S military presence in the region.

President Donald Trump met privately with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday and says he pushed Israel to back continued U.S. talks with Iran on a nuclear deal.