Trump Claims He Halted India-Pakistan Nuclear War
Trump boasts stopping India-Pakistan conflict, cites five jets downed.
US President Donald Trump claimed on Tuesday that his administration prevented a potential nuclear war between India and Pakistan, asserting that five fighter jets were shot down during their recent conflict.
Speaking at a White House reception with Congress members, Trump said, "We stopped wars between India and Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda. They shot down five planes, and it was back and forth. I called them and said, 'Listen, no more trade. If you do this, you're not going to be good.' They're both powerful nuclear nations, and that would have happened."
Trump reiterated these claims from a Friday dinner with Republican senators, where he first mentioned the downing of "four or five" jets, emphasizing the escalating tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors. He also boasted of stopping conflicts in Kosovo-Serbia and neutralizing Iran's nuclear capabilities, questioning whether former President Joe Biden could have achieved similar outcomes.
India, however, has consistently rejected Trump’s narrative. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, following a June phone call between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump during the G7 Summit in Kananaskis, Canada, clarified that no US mediation or trade deal discussions occurred during the India-Pakistan de-escalation. Misri stressed that the ceasefire, announced on May 10, was negotiated directly between the Indian and Pakistani militaries at Pakistan’s request, following India’s Operation Sindoor.
Also Read: Obama Slams Trump's "Treason" Claim as Outrageous Distraction
Operation Sindoor was launched on May 7 in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which killed 26 people and was claimed by The Resistance Front, a Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayyiba affiliate designated as a terrorist organization by the US.
India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish, told the UN Security Council on Tuesday that India’s strikes targeted terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. He described the response as "focused, measured, and non-escalatory," achieving its objectives before Pakistan requested a cessation of hostilities.
Acting US Representative Ambassador Dorothy Shea, speaking at the same UNSC debate chaired by Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, credited US leadership under Trump for facilitating de-escalations, including between India and Pakistan. However, India maintains that bilateral military communication, not US intervention, resolved the crisis.
Trump’s claims of averting a nuclear war and his reference to five jets being shot down remain unsubstantiated, with no official confirmation from either India or Pakistan specifying losses. Pakistan has claimed downing Indian jets, while India acknowledged some losses but emphasized its subsequent precision strikes. The US has reiterated its commitment to counterterrorism, designating The Resistance Front as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, aligning with its stance against the Pahalgam attack.
Also Read: Trump’s Envoy Races to Secure Gaza Ceasefire Deal
