Trump Claims His Tariff Threats Prevented Nuclear War Between India and Pakistan

US President Donald Trump has once again claimed that he brokered a peace deal between India and Pakistan through trade threats. The President asserted that his controversial tariffs were instrumental in achieving a truce between the two nuclear-armed neighbors during their armed conflict earlier this year. He also maintained that the United States has become a peacekeeper because of these tariffs, which he claims are generating "hundreds of billions of dollars" for Washington.

When questioned about whether he would change his position on tariffs, Trump told reporters at the White House, "If I didn't have the power of tariffs, you would have at least four of the seven wars raging."

Referring specifically to India and Pakistan, he stated, "They were ready to go at it. Seven planes were shot down... I don't want to say exactly what I said, but what I said was very effective... Not only did we make hundreds of billions of dollars, but we're a peacekeeper because of tariffs."

This is not the first instance where the US leader has made such assertions. Since May 10, when Trump announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a "full and immediate" ceasefire after a "long night" of talks mediated by Washington, he has repeatedly claimed that he "helped settle" the tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad.

In August, Trump elaborated on his approach, claiming that to broker peace between the two Asian neighbors, he threatened Prime Minister Modi with Washington withholding trade and imposing high tariffs on India.

"I said, 'I don't want to make a trade deal with you... You guys are going to end up in a nuclear war...' I said, 'Call me back tomorrow, but we're not going to do any deals with you, or we're going to put tariffs on you that are so high, your head's going to spin,'" he had said.

The Republican leader added that New Delhi and Islamabad reached a peace agreement within "five hours" of his discussions with PM Modi.

India has consistently maintained that the cessation of hostilities was achieved after Pakistan's Director General of Military Operations reached out to his Indian counterpart for direct talks on the issue.

Although Pakistan initially denied Trump's claim, it later acknowledged it and even nominated Trump for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize in "recognition of his decisive diplomatic intervention and pivotal leadership during the recent India-Pakistan crisis."