US president Donald Trump on Wednesday (27) repeated his claim that he prevented a conflict between India and Pakistan from escalating into a nuclear exchange by threatening both countries with tariffs and trade restrictions.
Speaking at a cabinet meeting at the White House, Trump said he had warned Indian prime minister Narendra Modi during a phone call that the United States would not pursue trade deals and could impose punitive tariffs if New Delhi and Islamabad did not agree to a ceasefire.
“I said, I don’t want to make a trade deal with you. You guys are going to end up in a nuclear war,” Trump told reporters. “Within five hours, it was done.”
Trump did not provide evidence for the claim. He also said “seven jets or maybe more” had been shot down, without specifying which country’s aircraft were involved.
The remarks came hours before new US tariffs of up to 50% on Indian goods were due to take effect. Earlier this week, Trump said he had halted “seven wars” during his presidency, four of them by using tariffs as leverage.
Since May 10, when he announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a “full and immediate” ceasefire after what he described as a US-brokered effort, Trump has repeated more than 40 times that he helped defuse the conflict.
India has denied third-party involvement, saying the ceasefire was agreed directly between the Directors General of Military Operations of the two countries. Modi told parliament that no foreign leader asked India to halt Operation Sindoor, while external affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said there was “no third-party intervention.”
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