New York/Washington, Nov 20: US President Donald Trump has again claimed that he defused tensions between India and Pakistan by threatening both countries with 350 per cent tariffs, asserting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally informed him that New Delhi would not go to war.
Speaking at the US–Saudi Investment Forum alongside visiting Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Trump repeated his earlier assertion made more than 60 times since May that he “helped settle” the standoff between the two nuclear armed neighbours, a claim India has consistently rejected.
Trump said he intervened when India and Pakistan were “going to go at it, nuclear weapons,” and warned both of a crippling tariff blockade. “I told them, ‘You can go at it, but I’m putting a 350 per cent tariff on each country. No more trade with the United States,’” he said. According to Trump, both nations pleaded with him not to impose the tariffs.
He said he instructed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to prepare for the tariff announcement, telling him the move would “settle the conflict,” adding that once the threat was made, he promised the countries “a nice trade deal” if they stepped back from escalation.
Trump further claimed Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had thanked him “for saving millions of lives,” and that PM Modi later called to say, “We’re not going to go to war.” Trump said he responded by telling Modi, “Let’s make a deal.”
The US President insisted he had used tariffs to resolve “five of eight” global conflicts, asserting that no other president would have taken such action.
Trump also made similar claims a day earlier during a bilateral meeting with the Saudi Crown Prince in the Oval Office.
Since May 10 when he announced that India and Pakistan had agreed to a “full and immediate” ceasefire after overnight talks allegedly mediated by Washington Trump has repeatedly credited himself for ending the confrontation.
However, India has firmly denied any external intervention, maintaining that the cessation of hostilities on May 10 followed direct talks between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of the two countries. The ceasefire came days after India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in response to the Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians.