President Donald Trump has again asserted that he prevented a potential nuclear conflict between India and Pakistan last year by threatening economic penalties, including tariffs. Speaking in an interview with Fox Business on Tuesday (10), Trump said trade pressure played a key role in defusing tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.
“I settled eight wars. Of the eight wars, at least six were settled because of tariffs,” Trump said. “I told them, if you don’t settle this war, I’m going to charge you tariffs, because I don’t want to see people getting killed.”
Referring specifically to India and Pakistan, Trump claimed the situation had escalated dramatically, with 10 aircraft reportedly shot down during the hostilities. “They were really going at it,” he said, adding that in his view, the conflict could have spiraled into a nuclear war. “It would have been a nuclear war, in my opinion.”
Trump also stated that Pakistan’s prime minister told him he had “saved at least 10 million lives” by intervening. According to Trump, the threat of tariffs was decisive in bringing both sides to agree to a ceasefire. “Without tariffs, that wouldn’t have happened,” he said.
Since May 10 last year, Trump has repeatedly claimed credit, more than 80 times, for facilitating a “full and immediate” ceasefire between the two countries following talks he said were mediated by Washington.
India, however, has consistently denied any third-party involvement in ending the conflict. The tensions followed India’s launch of Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting alleged terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians.
