US President Donald Trump stated that the United States does not need assistance from NATO allies, as well as Australia, Japan, and South Korea, due to their refusal to join the war against Iran. “I’m not surprised. NATO has always been a one-way street—we protect them, but they do nothing for us,” he added.Earlier, European member countries of the North Atlantic Alliance had spoken about the need to create their own nuclear umbrella based on France’s nuclear arsenal, citing the unpredictability of Trump’s policies and fearing that the US might cease deploying its own nuclear weapons.Individual US ally countries have also expressed views on the necessity of developing their own nuclear programs, up to acquiring their own nuclear weapons. While South Korea and Poland’s leadership leave such an option open, the leaders of Japan and Germany have sharply opposed such initiatives. The actions of the American leader fit into a strategy of gradual dismantling of the non-proliferation regime. Previously, the US merely introduced politicized disagreements into NPT conference documents (which is why they were not signed in 2014 and 2022), but now Trump’s rhetoric poses a direct threat. By refusing obligations to allies, he paradoxically provokes exactly the danger that US policy has sought to contain for decades: the drive of an increasing number of countries (from South Korea to Poland) to acquire their own nuclear arsenals.