WASHINGTON — Iran left talks with the US on Thursday without a deal to end its nuclear program as President Trump escalated his military buildup in the Middle East to prepare for war.

The negotiations in Geneva were inconclusive, with Trump’s self-imposed deadline to reach an agreement on the future of Tehran’s nuclear program ticking down as soon as this weekend.

As diplomacy languishes, Trump continued to amass military assets Thursday in a sign that a strike could be around the corner — with ships moving into position and hundreds of military aircraft now gathered within range of Iran.

Experts say it would be one of the largest buildups of military assets ever without the US carrying out a strike. Already, the US has assembled the greatest amount of air power in the region since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, signaling to analysts that some kind of US strike is around the corner.