US President Donald Trump has once again reiterated his claim of personally brokering peace between India and Pakistan during a military conflict earlier this year, saying he threatened Prime Minister Narendra Modi with trade and tariff penalties to force a ceasefire with Islamabad. India, however, has firmly denied any third-party role.
Trump’s Claim Of Personal Intervention
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Trump recounted a conversation with Prime Minister Modi, claiming he directly pressured India into halting hostilities with Pakistan.
“I said, I don’t want to make a trade deal with you. You guys are going to end up in a nuclear war,” Trump said. “I told him, call me back tomorrow, but we’re not going to do any deals, or we’ll put tariffs on you so high your head’s going to spin.”
According to Trump, within five hours of this warning, both New Delhi and Islamabad agreed to end the fighting. “Maybe it starts again, but I’ll stop it if it does. We can’t let these things happen,” he added.
India’s Firm Denial
India has repeatedly dismissed Trump’s assertions. Officials have maintained that the ceasefire understanding with Pakistan was achieved through direct talks between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of the two militaries, without any foreign mediation.
Prime Minister Modi has also made it clear in Parliament that no leader of any other country influenced India’s decision-making during the operation, which was codenamed Sindoor.
Trump’s “Tariffs For Peace” Strategy
This is not the first time Trump has touted tariffs as a tool for diplomacy. The US President claimed he prevented seven wars around the world using economic threats, including the India-Pakistan conflict.
“I had tariffs and trade, and I was able to say, ‘If you want to kill everybody, that’s okay, but I’ll charge you 100% tariffs when you trade with us.’ They all gave up,” he said.
He further alleged that India and Pakistan were close to a “nuclear-level” confrontation, citing reports of jets being shot down, and claimed his intervention prevented escalation.
Repeated Assertions Since May
Since May 10, when Trump announced on social media that Washington helped broker a “full and immediate ceasefire” between India and Pakistan, he has repeated the claim more than 40 times.
On Monday, he broadened the assertion, saying: “The war with India and Pakistan was the next level that was going to be a nuclear war. They had already shot down seven jets. I told them, ‘You’ve got 24 hours to settle it.’ They said, ‘Well, there’s no more war going on’.”
India’s Historical Context
Trump also appeared to confuse historical details, remarking that tensions between India and Pakistan had been going on “for a hell of a long time, sometimes with different names for hundreds of years.” In reality, both nations became independent in 1947 following partition from British rule.
Despite Trump’s repeated claims, New Delhi continues to assert that India’s military and diplomatic decisions remain sovereign and are not influenced by foreign powers.
