‘India, Pakistan were ready to go at it big’: Trump claims he stopped a war after ‘eight planes’ were shot down

President Trump reiterated that he ended the India-Pakistan conflict and other wars, including an assertion about eight planes shot down, even as India rejects US mediation.

• Trump claims US intervention ended India-Pakistan conflict in May 2025.
• India denies US mediation, claims direct talks resolved crisis.
• Trump proposes Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in halting global conflicts

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US President Donald Trump has reiterated his claim that he ended the conflict between India and Pakistan in May last year, asserting that he brought hostilities to a halt after eight aircraft were shot down, even as Indian officials consistently deny any third-party intervention in the truce.

Trump made the remarks in a Thursday interview with Fox News, saying he had “put out eight wars, eight and a quarter,” including what he described as a near-escalation between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

Trump pushes Nobel Peace Prize narrative

Trump said that “in theory” a Nobel Peace Prize should be awarded for ending each war, framing his intervention across multiple conflicts as a major achievement. “Some of these wars were going on for 30 years. India, Pakistan were ready to go at it big … and I got it stopped … eight planes were shot down.” He added that his actions saved “millions and millions of lives.”

He also referenced other conflicts, including a decades-long quarrel between Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, and said he had ended those as well.

India rejects US mediation claim

Indian government officials have repeatedly rejected Trump’s assertion that the United States brokered a ceasefire in May 2025 after Operation Sindoor, a four-day cross-border military crisis that began on May 7 following the Pahalgam attack.

New Delhi has maintained that the India-Pakistan understanding reached on May 10 was negotiated directly through established military and diplomatic channels and was not mediated by a third party.

Diplomatic and domestic implications

Trump’s claims come as Washington navigates complex diplomatic relationships in South Asia, including trade negotiations with India that have encountered delays. The repeated assertion of personal credit for resolving conflicts has drawn attention from international policymakers and commentators, some of whom note that Trump’s tally of “wars stopped” includes disputes that were not formally wars.