President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025, at the White House in Washington, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth look on. AP/PTI
Spoke to 'very terrific man' Modi, ended India-Pak conflict in 5 hrs: Trump
Trump again reiterated his intervention led to a swift ceasefire in May; he even said 7 jets were downed in conflict. New Delhi continues to reject his claims
US President Donald Trump has once again claimed that he helped to stop the war between India and Pakistan during their May military standoff, saying his intervention led to a swift ceasefire.
Trump also claimed that "seven jets or maybe more than that" were shot down during the four-day conflict, without specifying which country’s aircraft he was referring to.
'Very terrific man, Narendra Modi'
During a cabinet meeting on Tuesday (August 26), Trump recounted how he helped prevent a global war at the onset of the Ukraine-Russia crisis, remarking “they were ready to trot,” before turning to describe an alleged exchange with Prime Minister Narendra Modi amid the peak of India-Pakistan tensions in May.
The remarks came just hours before Trump’s new tariff measures on India were set to take effect on Wednesday, August 27, raising the overall tariff burden on Indian goods to nearly 50 per cent.
Sitting alongside his defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, he recounted, “I am talking to a very terrific man, Narendra Modi, and I said 'what's going on with you and Pakistan?' The hatred was tremendous. This has been going on for a hell of a long time, like, sometimes with different names for hundreds of years."
Trade deal threat
Trump said he warned, “I’m not making a trade deal with you… You guys are going to end up in a nuclear war.” He added that he told them to call back the next day, but made it clear: “No deals, or I’ll hit you with tariffs so steep your head will spin.”
Also read: Settled 6 wars in 6 months, including India-Pakistan: Trump
President Trump claimed the ceasefire between India and Pakistan was reached within five hours of his conversation with Prime Minister Modi, adding, “Maybe it starts again—I don’t know. But I’ll stop it if it does. We can’t let these things happen.”
Seven jets downed
Just a day earlier, he reiterated his role in brokering the May truce, stating that seven jets were shot down during the conflict, which is a different number from his earlier claim of five aircraft being downed.
"India and Pakistan were going to end up in a nuclear war if I didn't stop them. I saw them fighting, then I saw seven jets were shot down. I said, 'That's not good, that's a lot of jets'," he told reporters on Tuesday.
Also read: Trump miffed as India ignored his ceasefire claims, says ex-diplomat on US tariffs
The US President, however, did not clarify which country’s aircraft were destroyed.
Delhi rejects claims
Although Donald Trump has frequently asserted that he played a key role in brokering the India-Pakistan ceasefire, New Delhi has consistently rejected these claims. India maintains that the May 10 ceasefire was initiated following a request for de-escalation from Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations to his Indian counterpart.
India has emphasised that the agreement was a direct, mutual understanding between the two nations, unconditional and achieved without any involvement from external parties.