'11 jets shot down...': Trump repeats claim of halting India-Pakistan conflict using trade threats

US President Donald Trump said he had spoken to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during last year’s India-Pakistan hostilities, repeating his claim that he helped halt the conflict through trade pressure — an assertion India has consistently rejected.  

Speaking at the Board of Peace event in Washington, DC on February 19, Trump described his alleged intervention in detail.  

“He (Pakistani PM) said in front of our Chief of Staff that President Trump saved 25 million lives when he stopped the war between us and India...That war was raging. Planes were being shot down. And I got on the phone with both of them, and I knew them a little bit. I knew Prime Minister Modi very well...I called them and I said, listen, I'm not doing trade deals with you two guys if you don't settle this up... And all of a sudden, we worked out a deal. I said, if you fight, I'm going to put 200 per cent tariffs on each of your countries. They both wanted to fight. But when it came to money, it's nothing like money. When it came to losing a lot of money, they said, I guess we don't want to fight...11 jets were shot down. Very expensive jets...”, the US President said.

“Pakistan and India, that was a big one. Pakistan and India, thank you very much. I spoke to Prime Minister Modi. He's excited. He's watching us right now,” Trump added. 

Earlier this month, in an interview with Fox Business, Trump linked the de-escalation directly to his trade warnings, saying:  “It would have been a nuclear war, in my opinion. Without tariffs, that wouldn’t happen.”  

He has reiterated similar claims in other public appearances, including the National Prayer Breakfast, and on his social media platform.  

However, New Delhi has firmly denied any third-party mediation, maintaining that decisions on de-escalation were taken bilaterally between India and Pakistan through direct communication channels.  

The tensions followed India’s military action — Operation Sindoor — launched on May 7 last year targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir after the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 civilians.  

Indian officials have repeatedly stated that ceasefire arrangements and subsequent de-escalation were strictly bilateral and did not involve mediation by Washington, underscoring India’s longstanding position against third-party involvement in its disputes with Pakistan.