Washington: US President Donald Trump once again claimed that he stopped the four-day military conflict between India and Pakistan by threatening both countries with steep tariffs while addressing a midterm election rally in Florida.
India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, 2025, targeting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoK) following the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, which claimed 26 lives.
Addressing the rally on Friday, Trump took credit for stopping India and Pakistan from escalating their military conflict last year, saying he threatened to impose steep tariffs on both countries if they continued fighting.
He said the two nuclear-armed nations were angry but stopped shooting, adding that ‘eleven planes were shot down.’
“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 down. I stopped all these wars, and it's really an honour to do so..." Trump said, adding that he did not receive 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 has repeatedly claimed that his threat to impose steep tariffs on India and Pakistan helped bring an end to the military hostilities in May 2025.
India has consistently rejected Trump's claims of US mediation, maintaining that the understanding to cease military action was worked out directly between the two countries' Directors General of Military Operations on May 10, 2025. India has also said that no trade-related discussions took place with the US during the conflict.
Trump has also repeatedly argued that he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in resolving international conflicts, claiming credit for settling eight wars.
At the Florida rally, Trump expressed disappointment over not receiving the honour, saying: “I've settled eight wars. Did I get the Nobel Prize? No.”
The US midterm elections, in which all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and a third of the Senate seats are up for election, will be held on November 3.