New Delhi/ Washington: US President Donald Trump has once again claimed credit for averting a potential nuclear conflict between India and Pakistan in May, insisting he played the role of mediator by speaking with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and warning Islamabad that continued hostilities would jeopardize trade deals.
“I am talking to a very terrific man, Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi. I said, ‘What’s going on with you and Pakistan? The hatred was tremendous,’” Trump said, recounting his supposed conversation with Modi.
While speaking about his foreign policy approach, saying that just as he averted a world war over Ukraine, he had also prevented a nuclear confrontation in South Asia.
“We were going to end up in a nuclear war if I didn’t stop them. I saw they were fighting, I saw seven jets were shot down. That’s not good… those are USD150 million planes,” he said, adding that he warned both New Delhi and Islamabad against further escalation.
India, however, has repeatedly dismissed Trump’s claims, maintaining that the understanding to cease hostilities with Pakistan was reached through direct talks between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of the two militaries and without US involvement.
Trump said “You want to trade? We’re not doing any trade or anything with you if you keep fighting. You’ve got 24 hours to settle it.”
He further claimed he threatened to impose “tariffs so high, your head’s going to spin” .
“I said, I don’t want to make a trade deal with you if you’re gonna have a nuclear war. You guys are going to end up in a nuclear war…I said, call me back tomorrow, but we’re not going to do any deals with you, or we’re going to put tariffs on you that are so high, your head’s going to spin,” he said.
Trump asserted that following his intervention, India and Pakistan reached a deal “within five hours” of his talks with Modi. “Now, maybe, it starts again. I don’t know. I don’t think so — but I’ll stop it if it does,” he added.
This is not the first time Trump has made such a claim. Since May 10, when he announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a “full and immediate” ceasefire after a “long night” of talks mediated by Washington, he has repeated more than 40 times that he “helped settle” the tensions.
Trump reiterated , saying he had “stopped seven wars around the world,” including the standoff between India and Pakistan. “Of the seven wars I stopped, four were because I used tariffs and trade to negotiate,” he told reporters. “I said, ‘If you want to fight and kill everybody, fine, but we’re going to charge you a 100 per cent tariff.’ They all gave up.”
“A big one would have been India and Pakistan,” Trump added.
His remarks came a day after the White House credited President Trump for having secured a “ceasefire” between India and Pakistan following Operation Sindoor, which targeted nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) on May 7.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Trump’s foreign policy had helped ease global conflicts, citing India and Pakistan as an example. India, however, has consistently denied any third-party involvement in the de-escalation.
