US President Donald Trump has once again repeated his now-frequent assertion that he single-handedly defused the military tensions between India and Pakistan earlier this year. Speaking at the US-Saudi Investment Forum, Trump claimed that he forced both nations to step back from the brink of war by threatening them with an aggressive 350% tariff on all trade with the United States — a claim he has made dozens of times, despite repeated denials from India.
According to Trump, Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally telephoned him to say that India would not go to war with Pakistan after he issued the tariff threat. Trump’s version of events has changed slightly each time he recounts it, particularly the percentage of the tariff, which has ranged from 200% to 350%. This time, he presented what he called a detailed, behind-the-scenes account of how he supposedly ended the standoff.
Addressing a high-profile gathering that included Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Trump recounted telling both nuclear-armed nations that they were free to “go at it,” but that if they did, he would impose a 350% tariff and halt trade with both sides completely. He claims that both countries immediately objected, but he refused to back down.
Trump added that he warned them he would not allow a conflict that could kill millions of people or spread radioactive fallout toward American cities. To reinforce his narrative, he said he instructed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to prepare for the tariff announcement and told New Delhi and Islamabad that a “nice trade deal” awaited them if they stopped fighting and returned to negotiations.
The US president further claimed that Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had called him in gratitude — supposedly in front of White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles — thanking him for “saving millions of lives.” Trump said that shortly afterward, PM Modi allegedly called him to say, “We are done,” which Trump said he did not initially understand. According to Trump, Modi clarified that India would not go to war, prompting Trump to respond, “Let’s make a deal.”
Trump then used the moment to boast that he had resolved several global crises using tariffs as leverage, insisting that no other American president would have had the courage or imagination to do so. He maintained that he had saved “millions of people” not only in South Asia but in other conflict zones as well.
This is not the first time Trump has repeated the story. Since May 10 — the day he announced on social media that a “full and immediate ceasefire” had been reached between India and Pakistan after what he described as a tense night of US-led mediation — he has repeated the claim more than 60 times across speeches, press interactions, and political events.
India, however, has formally rejected his statements each time. The Indian government has maintained that there was no third-party mediation of any kind and that the ceasefire was agreed upon directly through discussions between the Directors General of Military Operations of the Indian and Pakistani armies.
The backdrop to the conflict was India’s Operation Sindoor, launched on May 7 in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians. India targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and inside Pakistan, escalating tensions sharply until the DGMO-level talks led to the cessation of hostilities on May 10.
Despite India’s consistent position, Trump continues to retell his version of events — each time with greater flourish — making his tariff-threat story a recurring theme of his public speeches.
