00:00The Middle East remains on edge as the U.S. and Iran met for a second round of talks in
00:06Geneva this week.
00:07While the White House said a bit of progress was made, they remain far apart on some issues.
00:14Washington says it's ready to launch a military strike against Iran by the end of the week,
00:19but that the U.S. president has not yet made a final decision.
00:23The president has always been very clear, though, with respect to Iran or any country
00:27around the world, diplomacy is always his first option.
00:29And Iran would be very wise to make a deal with President Trump and with this administration.
00:36This comes as the U.S. assembles the greatest amount of air power in the Middle East since
00:41its 2003 invasion of Iraq.
00:44Over the past few days, Washington has continued to send F-35 and F-22 fighter jets to the region,
00:51according to flight tracking data.
00:53They join an armada which includes the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and three warships
00:59carrying Tomahawk missiles that were used to strike two of Iran's nuclear facilities last
01:05June.
01:06And President Donald Trump has deployed a second aircraft carrier strike group, which includes
01:11three destroyers and the USS Gerald Ford, the Navy's most advanced aircraft carrier.
01:17additional resources are on route, bringing the total to 13 destroyers.
01:22Washington has also deployed critical air defenses to the region in recent weeks, including electronic
01:28warfare jets to jam radar and communication systems and Reaper drones.
01:33Meanwhile, Iran and Russia are conducting naval exercises in the Sea of Oman and the Northern
01:39Indian Ocean just days after the Revolutionary Guard conducted military drills in the Strait
01:46of Hormuz.
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