‘Would have been in nuclear war’: Trump again claims he averted India‑Pakistan conflict

Speaking during a meeting with NATO chief Rutte in the wee hours of Tuesday, Trump said tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours were flaring up dangerously when he stepped in.

U.S. President Donald Trump has once again claimed that his intervention helped prevent a likely nuclear confrontation between India and Pakistan, attributing the de-escalation to his administration’s use of trade negotiations as leverage.

Speaking during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the wee hours of Tuesday, Trump said tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours were flaring up dangerously when he stepped in.

“India and Pakistan would have been in a nuclear war within another week, the way that was going,” Trump said. “We did that through trade. I said, ‘We’re not going to talk to you about trade unless you get this thing settled.’ And they did.”

#WATCH | US President Donald Trump says, "We have been very successful in settling wars. You have India, Pakistan...India and Pakistan would have been a nuclear war within another week, the way that was going. That was going very badly. We did that through trade. I said, we're… pic.twitter.com/GPDA6ObK0B

— ANI (@ANI) July 15, 2025

"We have been very successful in settling wars," he said, citing the India-Pakistan military conflict that took place between May 7 and May 10.

This is not the first time Trump has suggested he mediated between the two countries.

Early this June, he told reporters aboard Air Force One that his administration had quietly “solved a big problem, a nuclear problem potentially with India and with Pakistan,” by engaging with leaders of both countries.

“I spoke to Pakistan, I spoke to India, they have really great leaders, but they were going at it, and they could have gone at it nuclear,” he said.

While Trump has repeatedly taken credit for calming tensions, New Delhi has, however, consistently rejected any claims of third-party mediation.

India maintains that all issues with Pakistan, including those relating to Jammu and Kashmir, must be resolved bilaterally without outside involvement.