US President Donald Trump has repeated his claim that his threat to impose steep tariffs prevented India and Pakistan from going to war, bringing India’s Operation Sindoor into the spotlight at rallies for the US midterm elections.
India launched Operation Sindoor in May 2025, targeting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoK) following the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, which claimed several lives.
Addressing an election rally in Florida on Friday, Trump once again took credit for stopping India and Pakistan from escalating their war last year by threatening them with steep tariffs.
He said the two nuclear-armed nations were angry but stopped shooting, adding that “eleven planes were shot.”
“You stop India and Pakistan, two nuclear nations... I said, 'Fellas, if you guys are going to do that, you're not going to trade with the United States...I'm going to put massive tariffs on both of you, 250 per cent, so you won't be able to do any business'," Trump said.
He said India and Pakistan were very upset and very angry, but they stopped shooting, and the war was over.
“Eleven planes were shot. I stopped all these wars, and it's really an honour to do so..." Trump said, adding he did not get any help from the United Nations in this effort.
“I'd never made one phone call to the United Nations. But we got them all stopped, and a couple more left. I had no idea when I was running, I had no idea that they had so many wars,” Trump said.
Trump also expressed disappointment over not receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for his claimed diplomatic interventions. "I've settled eight wars. Did I get the Nobel Prize? No," he said.
India has repeatedly rejected Trump's assertions that he brokered a ceasefire between New Delhi and Islamabad, maintaining that the understanding to stop military action was reached directly between the two countries.
After Indian strikes targeted key terror launchpads, military action was paused on May 10 following a request from Pakistan, according to India's account of the developments.
(With inputs from PTI)