Washington: US President Donald Trump has once again grabbed global attention with bold claims about his role in mediating peace between India and Pakistan. Speaking at a White House briefing, Trump recounted how he allegedly intervened personally in May, using the threat of trade sanctions and sky-high tariffs to push Prime Minister Narendra Modi toward a ceasefire with Islamabad.
“I am talking to a very terrific man, Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi. I said, ‘What’s going on with you and Pakistan? The hatred was tremendous,’” Trump said, portraying himself as the decisive catalyst preventing a potential nuclear escalation. He added, “I said, call me back tomorrow, but we’re not going to do any deals with you, or we’re going to put tariffs on you that are so high, your head’s going to spin.”
Trump claimed the ceasefire deal between the two nuclear-armed neighbors was finalized within just five hours of his conversation with Modi. “Within about five hours, it was done…Now maybe it starts again. I don’t know. I don’t think so, but I’ll stop it if it does. We can’t let these things happen,” he stated.
According to the US President, his approach to global conflicts frequently involved tariffs and trade threats. He asserted that he had “stopped seven wars around the world,” with four of them including India-Pakistan tensions averted by leveraging economic pressure. “I had tariffs and trade, and I was able to say, ‘If you go fight and want to kill everybody, that is okay, but I am going to charge you each a 100% tariff when you trade with us.’ They all gave up,” Trump explained.
India, however, has consistently dismissed Trump’s claims. New Delhi has maintained that the cessation of hostilities during Operation Sindoor was the result of direct talks between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of both militaries, without any third-party intervention. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emphasized in Parliament that no foreign leader asked India to halt its military operations against Pakistan.
Historians and analysts also note that Trump’s timeline exaggerates historical context. While Trump referred to India-Pakistan tensions as ongoing “for hundreds of years,” the two nations became independent states only in 1947 following the end of British rule in the Indian subcontinent, before which the region was divided into numerous smaller kingdoms.
Trump’s repeated claims of brokering peace between New Delhi and Islamabad have drawn skepticism from international observers. Since May, he has asserted over 40 times that he personally helped settle the conflict, presenting himself as a master negotiator using tariffs as a diplomatic tool.
As Trump continues to frame himself as a global peacemaker with unconventional methods, India maintains that its foreign policy and military decisions remain sovereign, free from external coercion or trade-based threats.