Trump again claims he brokered India-Pakistan ceasefire, says he 'used trade'

US President Donald Trump - File Photo (AFP)

US President Donald Trump on Monday repeated his claim that he personally brokered the May ceasefire between India and Pakistan, a statement that New Delhi has consistently rejected.

“We stopped 7 wars, the real number is 10. We stopped Iran…from using a nuclear weapon. Every bomb hit its spot in Iran…. The big one was India and Pakistan. India-Pakistan was next level, could have been a nuclear war. It took 24 hours to stop it. I used trade,” Trump said.

According to Trump, it was his intervention that prevented the situation from spiraling into a nuclear confrontation. “We stopped a lot of fights, very, very big one was India and Pakistan. We stopped that over trade. We are dealing with India and Pakistan. We said that we are not going to be dealing with you at all if you are gonna fight. They were maybe at a nuclear stage…Stopping that was really important,” he added.

New Delhi, however, maintains that the ceasefire was agreed upon at the Director General of Military Operations (DGMO)-level talks and that no external mediation was involved.

Trump first referenced the supposed ceasefire deal on May 10 in a Truth Social post. Since then, he has repeatedly linked his claim to his trade pressure tactics, even as India has pushed back.

On the other hand, Trump has announced severe tariffs on New Delhi. Starting August 27, Indian goods face a 50% tariff in the US. Of this, 25% has been imposed as penalty for continuing to buy and sell Russian oil, accusing it of “fuelling the Russian war machine.”

The Trump administration has repeatedly voiced opposition to India’s purchase of discounted Russian oil, yet it has notably avoided criticising China, the largest buyer of Moscow’s crude.

India has consistently defended its purchase of Russian oil, stressing that the decisions are guided by national interest and market realities.