US Vice President JD Vance has asked for prayers for American soldiers involved in the US-Israel war with Iran as the death toll from the conflict mounts, Al Jazeera reports.

“Right now, we are engaged in a military operation to ensure, as the president has said repeatedly, that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon,” Vance has said at an event in North Carolina.

“That is a simple, simple principle and standard. Frankly, every president said that they believed it. Donald J Trump has taken affirmative steps to ensure Iran can never have a nuclear weapon.”