Trump claims, again, that he stopped India-Pak war with 200% tariff threat

India has repeatedly stated that the ceasefire following the 2025 military escalation was reached bilaterally, without any third-party intervention

US President Donald Trump on Thursday once again claimed that he ended a war between India and Pakistan by threatening trade penalties. India has consistently denied any external mediation in the matter.

 

Speaking at the inaugural meeting of the Gaza Board of Peace on Thursday, Trump repeated his claim that economic pressure from Washington led both sides to de-escalate the four-day conflict.

 

“That war was raging. Planes were being shot down. And I got on the phone with both of them, and I knew them a little bit. I knew Prime Minister Modi very well,” Trump said.

 

He said he warned both sides about trade consequences if the conflict continued. “I called them and I said, listen, I am not doing trade deals with you two if you do not settle this up,” he said. “And all of a sudden, we worked out a deal. I said, if you fight, I am going to put 200 per cent tariffs on each of your countries. They both wanted to fight. But when it came to money, there is nothing like money. When it came to losing a lot of money, they said, I guess we do not want to fight… 11 jets were shot down. Very expensive jets,” he added.

 

Trump has made similar remarks repeatedly since May 10 last year, when he said on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a “full and immediate” ceasefire after a “long night” of talks mediated by the United States. He has reiterated that assertion on several occasions on both domestic and international platforms. India has maintained there was no third-party involvement in the de-escalation process.

 

The comments followed a four-day military face-off between India and Pakistan after India launched Operation Sindoor in response to the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22 last year in which armed terrorists killed 26 civilians.