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.

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.

President Trump has given no indication that he has made a decision about how to proceed, as diplomatic talks continue.

The U.S. military leader overseeing operations and forces in Latin America met with Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodríguez in Caracas on Wednesday, as the Trump administration continues to forge ties with the Venezuelan government after the ouster of Nicolás Maduro.

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.

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

Arrivals at Tehran's airport this week mainly indicated Iranian and Middle Eastern airlines were flying to the Persian country amid heightened tensions with Washington.

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

U.S. military forces boarded another sanctioned tanker​ in the Indian Ocean after tracking the vessel from the Caribbean Sea in an effort to target illicit oil connected to Venezuela, the Pentagon says.