Trump Repeats Claim He Stopped India-Pakistan War Using Tariffs, Says ‘Eight Planes Were Shot Down’

US President Donald Trump has once again claimed that he prevented a full-scale war between India and Pakistan earlier this year by threatening both nations with tariffs — adding a new detail that “eight planes were shot down” during the escalation.

“India and Pakistan — eight planes were shot down. It was seven but now it is eight because the one that was sort of shot down is now abandoned,” Trump told reporters at the White House, asserting that he “ended five or six wars” during his tenure by using tariffs as leverage.

“If you look at India and Pakistan, they were about to fight — two nuclear nations. Eight planes were shot down. And I said, ‘If you guys are going to fight, I am going to put tariffs on you.’ They were not happy, and within 24 hours, I settled the war,” Trump said. “Without tariffs, I wouldn’t have been able to do that.”

Trump’s Repeated Claim

The former president has repeatedly maintained that his intervention averted a major conflict between the two nuclear-armed neighbours in May, even though New Delhi continues to reject any suggestion of outside mediation.

In May, India and Pakistan saw heightened tensions following India’s Operation Sindoor — a cross-border strike on alleged terror bases in response to the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people. Trump has said he spoke separately with both governments on May 9 and that a ceasefire was announced a day later.

Speaking at an event in Miami, Florida, on Wednesday, Trump repeated the claim, saying it was his threat to “cut trade” that stopped the fighting. “I was in the midst of a trade deal with both of them (India and Pakistan), and then I heard they were going to war,” he said, adding again that eight planes were downed during the confrontation.

At the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea last week, Trump also told attendees that he “threatened India and Pakistan with tariffs” to prevent a potential nuclear conflict.

India Rejects Trump’s Version

India has firmly rejected Trump’s account, reiterating that the ceasefire was reached through established military channels — not foreign intervention.

“India’s position remains unchanged — all issues with Pakistan are to be resolved bilaterally, without any third-party involvement,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement, adding that the truce followed routine communication between the two countries’ Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs).