Trump reiterates tariff claim about ending India-Pakistan conflict, India disputes US role

US President Donald Trump on Friday once again claimed that his administration used the threat of steep tariffs to persuade India and Pakistan to end their military confrontation during Operation Sindoor in 2025. Speaking to reporters at Camp David, Trump asserted that Washington warned both countries of tariffs as high as 250 per cent if the conflict continued, adding that the economic pressure ultimately led to a ceasefire."We ended the India-Pakistan (war). Eleven planes were shot down. That was raging. That was good. I used tariffs. I said, 'If you're going to go to war, 250 per cent tariff.' Each of them," Trump said after a televised meeting with his Cabinet colleagues.Trump restates his claim that he ended India, Pakistan conflict using tariffs pic.twitter.com/vusSgHJOiw— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) August 1, 2026 Claiming both sides initially reacted angrily, Trump added, "They screamed and yelled and were very angry. They were both angry about it. A day later they called and they said, 'We will not go to war.'"The US President also said Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had told him he "saved 50 million lives" by preventing a wider conflict between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.Trump further reiterated his broader claim that he had stopped eight wars during his presidency through economic pressure and diplomacy. He also asserted that Russian President Vladimir Putin was interested in negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine.India Rejects Mediation ClaimIndia has consistently rejected Trump's repeated assertions that the United States played a role in ending the hostilities. New Delhi maintains that the de-escalation was achieved through direct military-to-military engagement, with Pakistan's Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) initiating contact with his Indian counterpart on May 10, 2025.According to the Indian government, there was no third-party mediation involved in the ceasefire understanding, which followed several days of cross-border military action.Operation SindoorOperation Sindoor was launched by India on May 7, 2025, in response to the April 22 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, where 26 people were killed. Indian armed forces targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), saying the strikes were aimed at dismantling facilities used to plan and support cross-border terrorism.President Trump Reacts To Ceuta Migrant Crisis, Warns US Could Face Similar Surge If Democrats Return To PowerThe military operation was paused on May 10 after Pakistan requested a cessation of hostilities. While Pakistan has publicly credited Trump with helping avert a wider conflict, India has maintained that the ceasefire resulted solely from bilateral military communication and not external intervention.Trump has repeatedly made similar claims in recent months, insisting that tariff threats and economic leverage helped prevent escalation between India and Pakistan, a position that New Delhi has consistently disputed.

Washington: India and Pakistan were "very angry, and screamed and yelled" when the US threatened tariffs if they did not end their war, President Donald Trump claimed on Friday, referring to Operation Sindoor last year.In an interaction with the media at Camp David near here, Trump said 11 planes were shot down during the raging war between India and Pakistan, a claim disputed by New Delhi.Trump reiterated his claim to have stopped eight wars during his presidency and asserted that Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted to make a deal to end the war with Ukraine."We ended the India-Pakistan (war). 11 planes were shot down. That was raging. That was good. I used tariffs. I said, 'If you're going to go to war, 250 per cent tariff.' Each of them," Trump said at a media interaction after a televised meeting with his cabinet colleagues."And they (India and Pakistan) screamed and yelled and were very angry. They were both angry about it. A day later they called and they said, 'We will not go to war'," Trump said.The US President said Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he saved 50 million lives by stopping the war between the two nuclear powers.India has maintained that the ceasefire understanding during Operation Sindoor came after Pakistan's Director General of Military Operations contacted his Indian counterpart. New Delhi has also consistently denied any third-party intervention.India had carried out Operation Sindoor targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in response to the Pahalgam terror attack.India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 last year to destroy the terror bases in PoK used to plan the terrorist attack in Pahalgam on April 22. The operation was paused on May 10 following a request from Pakistan.