By The South Asia Times

WASHINGTON - A visibly frustrated President Donald Trump on Tuesday lashed out at NATO allies and other nations after his urgent appeals for military assistance in the widening war with Iran were met with a wall of silence and refusal.

"Because of the fact that we have had such Military Success, we no longer 'need,' or desire, the NATO Countries' assistance -- WE NEVER DID!" Trump wrote on Truth Social, specifically naming Japan, Australia, and South Korea in his post.

The defiant declaration marked a sharp reversal from Trump's position just days earlier, when he publicly pleaded with China, Britain, France, Japan, and South Korea to dispatch warships to the Strait of Hormuz, warning that NATO faced a "very bad future" if allies failed to step up.

Speaking alongside Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin at the White House, Trump complained that NATO allies had made a "very foolish mistake" by refusing to get involved.

But the diplomatic reality tells a different story. None of the nations Trump appealed to offered firm commitments:

Britain said it was still "discussing options" but stopped short of any pledge. Japan cited constitutional hurdles, with officials warning that any deployment faced "high hurdles." South Korea promised only to "communicate closely" without committing assets.

France offered to help secure the Strait only as part of a mission separate from the US-Israel war. China simply called for an end to hostilities.

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas delivered the bluntest rejection: "This is not Europe's war. We didn't start the war. We were not consulted. We don't know what are the objectives of this war."

As Trump pivots to "going it alone," the financial toll of the conflict is raising alarm. The first six days of war alone cost US taxpayers $11.3 billion - roughly $1 billion per day.

 - Trump facing criticism at home 

Congressman Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) expressed outrage at the math. "What the [expletive] is wrong with us? We spend pennies on everything else, yet when it comes to war, there's no limit. How is this America First?"

The Boston Globe noted that a single day's war spending could fund Boston's entire $4.6 billion annual operating budget for multiple days, or provide school lunches for 1.8 million American children for a full year.

Critics in Congress have labeled the conflict an "illegal war" launched without Congressional authorization. Former Trump ally and ex-Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene called Trump's promise not to engage in new wars a "lie."

Former US intelligence official Scott Ritter went further, describing the US-Israeli attack as "the ultimate war crime" - an act of aggression with no legal basis under domestic or international law.

With allies refusing to share the burden and costs spiraling beyond a billion dollars daily, Trump now finds himself presiding over a conflict that even some supporters call an illegal war fought for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's political survival.