1 hour ago
Donald Trump told a Florida rally that tariff threats stopped the 2025 India-Pakistan conflict. India maintains the ceasefire understanding was reached directly between the two countries' military chiefs.
Image used for representational purposes only
Washington,Oct 24, 2026 17:18 IST
US President Donald Trump has again claimed that he stopped the four-day military conflict between India and Pakistan by threatening both countries with steep tariffs, news agency Press Trust of India reported.
Speaking at a midterm election rally in Florida on Friday, Trump said he had warned the two nuclear-armed countries that they would not be allowed to trade with the United States if they continued fighting.
India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, 2025, targeting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir after the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 people.
Taking credit for stopping India and Pakistan from escalating the conflict, Trump said: "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 India and Pakistan were "very upset" and "very angry", but stopped firing after his warning. "Eleven planes were shot down. I stopped all these wars, and it's really an honour to do so..." he said, according to PTI.
He also said he had received no help from the United Nations. "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 end the military hostilities in May 2025.
India has consistently rejected his claims of US mediation. It has maintained that the understanding to cease military action was reached directly between the Directors General of Military Operations of the two countries on May 10, 2025. India has also said that no trade-related discussions took place with the US during the conflict.
Trump has repeatedly argued that he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in resolving international conflicts and has claimed credit for settling eight wars. Expressing disappointment over not receiving the award, he told the rally: "I've settled eight wars. Did I get the Nobel Prize? No."
The US midterm elections will be held on November 3, with all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and a third of the Senate seats up for election. Trump's remarks at the Florida rally repeated his claim that tariff threats ended the India-Pakistan conflict, a claim India has consistently rejected.
With PTI Inputs
- Ends
