U.S. Southern Command announced that the military launched strikes on three alleged drug smuggling boats in the eastern Pacific and the Caribbean on Monday, killing 11 people.

The White House spokeswoman says there are "many reasons and arguments that one could make for a strike against Iran".

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Iran must make a "meaningful deal" in negotiations with Washington in the next 10 days or else "bad things happen", as he deployed warships, fighter jets and other military hardware to the region.

U.S. forces struck three suspected drug-trafficking boats in international waters, killing 11 people under Operation Southern Spear.

The US military struck three alleged drug-trafficking vessels in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean on Monday night, killing all 11 people on board, US Southern Command said Tuesday.

A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday upheld the U.S. military's longstanding policy banning people with HIV from enlisting, rejecting claims that advances in medical treatment made it unreasonable.

The series of strikes brought the death toll to at least 145 people since the administration began targeting the small vessels since September.

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

Doherty is stationed at northern Vermont’s Camp Ethan Allen Training Site, where 11,000 acres are home to the Army Mountain Warfare School, the 86th Mountain Infantry brigade combat team and a dedicated biathlon training course and rifle range, said Micah Nevard, director of the U.S. Army’s National Guard Biathlon program.