TEXAS, Oct 28: US President Donald Trump on Wednesday (local time) claimed that he helped end the India-Pakistan conflict by allegedly threatening to impose 250 per cent tariffs on both countries, reiterating that he used trade as leverage to prevent further escalation between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
Addressing supporters at a midterm election rally in Corpus Christi, Texas, Trump said five of the eight wars he claimed to have ended were resolved through trade-related measures, citing India and Pakistan as an example.
“I ended eight wars, but five of them were ended by the use of trade, like India and Pakistan,” Trump said. His claim of ending eight wars came against the selection of Indian-origin South African jurist Navi Pillay for the Nobel Peace Prize.
During the rally, he called her a "woman that nobody ever heard of."
Recalling his intervention during the military confrontation, Trump said he had contacted the prime ministers of India and Pakistan and warned them of severe economic consequences if hostilities continued.
“I called up two great prime ministers. I said, ‘Look, here's the story: If you go to war--they already shot down 11 planes, 11 planes, but they were in the midst, they were a week and a half in. Would you agree, Ted, that war was raging? And they're nuclear powers, it would have been terrible,’” Trump said.
He added that he threatened to impose steep tariffs on both countries to discourage further fighting.
“And I said, if you go to war, if you keep doing this, I'm going to put 250% tariff on each of you, and you're never going to be able to do business in the United States,” Trump said.
Recalling the response to his warning, Trump said the leaders initially objected, but he insisted that he would proceed with the proposed tariffs.
“‘No, no, no, you can't do--’ I said, ‘I'm going to do it,’” he said.
Trump suggested that the tariff threat may have given both sides a reason to step back from further confrontation.
“They might have been happy that I did it. Maybe it was an excuse for them not to fight. Who the hell wants to fight like that?” he said.
The US President further claimed that hostilities ended immediately after his intervention and cited remarks he attributed to Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
“But they immediately ended the war, and the Prime Minister of Pakistan, highly respected man, said, ‘President Donald Trump saved at least 30 million lives.’ At least,” Trump said.
Earlier on October 23, as well, Trump had once again claimed credit for averting a military confrontation between India and Pakistan. Addressing a campaign rally in Florida, boasting of his diplomatic interventions on the international stage, Trump said his direct ultimatum to the leadership of both countries swiftly brought hostilities to an end.
"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,” US President said.
Claiming that the warning forced both sides to back off, Trump added, “They got very upset, very angry; 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."
Expressing unfairness over not receiving international accolades for his claimed diplomatic interventions, Trump remarked, "I've settled eight wars. Did I get the Nobel Prize? No."
Meanwhile, India has consistently disputed Trump's claims regarding the loss of 11 aircraft during the engagement while remaining steadfast in rejecting any external mediation.
India has reiterated that the ceasefire understanding during Operation Sindoor was reached only after Pakistan's Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) reached out to his Indian counterpart to request a halt in military action.
India had launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 last year as a decisive, targeted response to destroy terror infrastructure across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoK). The anti-terror operation was carried out to dismantle terror bases that were utilised to plan the horrific April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam.
Following effective Indian strikes that dismantled key terror launchpads, the operation was paused on May 10 after a formal request from the Pakistani side.
On October 10, Trump continued to criticise the decision to award the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize to Indian-origin South African jurist Navi Pillay, claiming that he had settled eight wars, is close to ending or settling two more conflicts and deserved the prestigious honour for his efforts.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump listed his claimed achievements in resolving international conflicts, securing the release of hostages and preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, while questioning why he or the United States did not receive the award.
Trump's remarks came after the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced on October 9 that Pillay had been awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to promote peace and international law.
Addressing supporters at a midterm election rally in Corpus Christi, Texas, Trump said five of the eight wars he claimed to have ended were resolved through trade-related measures, citing India and Pakistan as an example.
“I ended eight wars, but five of them were ended by the use of trade, like India and Pakistan,” Trump said. His claim of ending eight wars came against the selection of Indian-origin South African jurist Navi Pillay for the Nobel Peace Prize.
During the rally, he called her a "woman that nobody ever heard of."
Recalling his intervention during the military confrontation, Trump said he had contacted the prime ministers of India and Pakistan and warned them of severe economic consequences if hostilities continued.
“I called up two great prime ministers. I said, ‘Look, here's the story: If you go to war--they already shot down 11 planes, 11 planes, but they were in the midst, they were a week and a half in. Would you agree, Ted, that war was raging? And they're nuclear powers, it would have been terrible,’” Trump said.
He added that he threatened to impose steep tariffs on both countries to discourage further fighting.
“And I said, if you go to war, if you keep doing this, I'm going to put 250% tariff on each of you, and you're never going to be able to do business in the United States,” Trump said.
Recalling the response to his warning, Trump said the leaders initially objected, but he insisted that he would proceed with the proposed tariffs.
“‘No, no, no, you can't do--’ I said, ‘I'm going to do it,’” he said.
Trump suggested that the tariff threat may have given both sides a reason to step back from further confrontation.
“They might have been happy that I did it. Maybe it was an excuse for them not to fight. Who the hell wants to fight like that?” he said.
The US President further claimed that hostilities ended immediately after his intervention and cited remarks he attributed to Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
“But they immediately ended the war, and the Prime Minister of Pakistan, highly respected man, said, ‘President Donald Trump saved at least 30 million lives.’ At least,” Trump said.
Earlier on October 23, as well, Trump had once again claimed credit for averting a military confrontation between India and Pakistan. Addressing a campaign rally in Florida, boasting of his diplomatic interventions on the international stage, Trump said his direct ultimatum to the leadership of both countries swiftly brought hostilities to an end.
"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,” US President said.
Claiming that the warning forced both sides to back off, Trump added, “They got very upset, very angry; 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."
Expressing unfairness over not receiving international accolades for his claimed diplomatic interventions, Trump remarked, "I've settled eight wars. Did I get the Nobel Prize? No."
Meanwhile, India has consistently disputed Trump's claims regarding the loss of 11 aircraft during the engagement while remaining steadfast in rejecting any external mediation.
India has reiterated that the ceasefire understanding during Operation Sindoor was reached only after Pakistan's Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) reached out to his Indian counterpart to request a halt in military action.
India had launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 last year as a decisive, targeted response to destroy terror infrastructure across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoK). The anti-terror operation was carried out to dismantle terror bases that were utilised to plan the horrific April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam.
Following effective Indian strikes that dismantled key terror launchpads, the operation was paused on May 10 after a formal request from the Pakistani side.
On October 10, Trump continued to criticise the decision to award the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize to Indian-origin South African jurist Navi Pillay, claiming that he had settled eight wars, is close to ending or settling two more conflicts and deserved the prestigious honour for his efforts.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump listed his claimed achievements in resolving international conflicts, securing the release of hostages and preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, while questioning why he or the United States did not receive the award.
Trump's remarks came after the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced on October 9 that Pillay had been awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to promote peace and international law.
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