President Donald Trump demanded over the weekend that NATO members, Pacific region allies, and even China help the United States clear the Strait of Hormuz — through which maritime traffic has ground to a halt due to the ongoing threat of Iranian missile and drone strikes — and "make sure that nothing bad happens there."Trump noted that "this should have always been a team effort, and now it will be."'Not a simple task.'The response was less enthusiastic than Trump had apparently hoped, with some nations rebuffing the invitation and others kicking their decisions down the road."There are some countries that greatly disappointed me," Trump told reporters during an event at the White House on Monday. "What does surprise me is that they're not eager to help."Fewer than 24 hours later, Trump unpacked his disappointment on Truth Social, noting that "the United States has been informed by most of our NATO 'Allies' that they don’t want to get involved with our Military Operation against the Terrorist Regime of Iran, in the Middle East, this, despite the fact that almost every Country strongly agreed with what we are doing, and that Iran cannot, in any way, shape, or form, be allowed to have a Nuclear Weapon.""I am not surprised by their action, however, because I always considered NATO, where we spend Hundreds of Billions of Dollars per year protecting these same Countries, to be a one way street — We will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need," continued the president.RELATED: Joe Kent resigns from Trump admin, says Israel forced US into Iran conflict Vessel attacked near the Strait of Hormuz on March 11. Photo by Handout / ROYAL THAI NAVY / AFP via Getty Images.After noting that Iran's leadership and key defenses "are gone," Trump said, "We no longer 'need,' or desire, the NATO Countries’ assistance — WE NEVER DID! Likewise, Japan, Australia, or South Korea. In fact, speaking as President of the United States of America, by far the Most Powerful Country Anywhere in the World, WE DO NOT NEED THE HELP OF ANYONE!"'You will lose the ultimate guarantor of our freedom, which is the US nuclear umbrella.'Trump's latest criticism of NATO comes just weeks after the alliance's secretary general, Mark Rutte, told his European colleagues, "If anyone thinks here again that the European Union, or Europe as a whole, can defend itself without the U.S., keep on dreaming. You can’t. We can’t. We need each other."Rutte said that without the U.S., European nations would need to each beef up their defense spending to 10% and build out their nuclear capability."In that scenario, you will lose the ultimate guarantor of our freedom, which is the U.S. nuclear umbrella. So hey, good luck," added the NATO secretary general.Despite Rutte's reminder about Europe's reliance on America and Trump's threat on Sunday that NATO would face a "very bad future" if members didn't assist, numerous NATO members and U.S. allies farther afield declined Trump's invitation to commit forces in the Persian Gulf.Kaja Kallas, vice president of the European Commission and the European Union's foreign policy chief, told reporters on Monday that officials want to maintain their focus on Ukraine and that where Iran is concerned, their "focus is de-escalation and also freedom of navigation."While acknowledging the impact of the conflict and Iran's ballistic blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, Kallas stressed, "This is not Europe's war — this situation in the region."Kallas noted further that the EU has Operation Aspides underway in the Red Sea — a military operation aimed at safeguarding merchant and commercial vessels — but that it won't cover the strait as "there was no appetite from the Member states to do that."Stefan Kornelius, a spokesman for the German government, stated, "The government will not participate in this war," reported Deutsche Welle. "This war has nothing to do with NATO; it is not NATO's war."German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius echoed this sentiment on Monday, stating, "It is not our war; we did not start it. We want diplomatic solutions and a swift end, but additional warships in the region will likely not contribute to that."British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in an address on Monday that "we have to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to ensure stability" but that it "is not a simple task."Emphasizing that the U.K. will "not be drawn into the wider war," he noted that Britain is working with European allies on a "viable, collective plan that can restore freedom of navigation in the region as quickly as possible."While reluctant to send warships, the U.K.