US President Donald Trump has once again claimed credit for halting a potential war between India and Pakistan, stating that his use of tariffs and trade pressure was instrumental in stopping the conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours earlier this year.
Speaking from the Oval Office on Monday, Trump said, “Tariffs are very important for the United States. Not only do we make hundreds of billions of dollars, but we're a peacekeeper because of tariffs. I use tariffs to stop wars.”
Trump further said, “If you look at India and Pakistan, they were ready to go at it. Seven planes were shot down. They are nuclear powers. I don’t want to say exactly what I said, but what I said was very effective. They stopped. And that was based on tariffs. It was based on trade.”
However, India has firmly denied any third-party mediation.
Following the deadly Pahalgam terror attack on April 22 that killed 26 civilians, India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
The four-day escalation ended on May 10 after both sides reached an understanding through direct military-to-military communication.
India has repeatedly stated that the cessation of hostilities was achieved through talks between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of both countries, not through any external intervention.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said in Parliament that “no foreign leader” influenced the decision to end Operation Sindoor.
Despite India’s stance, Trump has continued to tout the incident as one of seven conflicts he claims to have helped resolve during his second term, citing his “power of tariffs” as a key diplomatic tool.
He has also claimed to have de-escalated tensions in other global hotspots including Cambodia-Thailand, Kosovo-Serbia, Congo-Rwanda, Israel-Iran, Egypt-Ethiopia, and Armenia-Azerbaijan.
“If I didn’t have tariffs to throw around a little bit, you would have at least four wars raging right now,” Trump said. “Thousands of people a day would be dying.”