US President Donald Trump has claimed that as many as 10 aircraft were shot down during the May 2025 military standoff between India and Pakistan, asserting that his intervention prevented the crisis from escalating into a nuclear conflict.
In an interview with an American news channel, Trump said he used tariff threats as a strategic tool to ease tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors. According to him, trade pressure played a decisive role in securing a ceasefire.
“I told them if you don’t stop the war, I will impose tariffs,” Trump said, adding that his priority was to stop further loss of life.
He described the situation between India and Pakistan as extremely volatile, warning that it could have spiraled into nuclear confrontation.
“In my opinion, it would have become a nuclear war. They were really going at it. Ten planes were shot down,” Trump said.
The US president also claimed that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif appreciated his diplomatic efforts, acknowledging that American intervention helped prevent massive casualties and eased regional tensions.
Trump further argued that without his tariff threats, the ceasefire would not have materialized. “They were heading toward nuclear conflict, in my opinion. Without tariffs, that wouldn’t have happened,” he said.
During the interview, Trump criticized US trade policy over the past five decades, calling every president during that period “bad on trade.”
“But I’m not bad on trade. I’m very good on trade,” he said.
Trump also stated that he resolved the long-running conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia in “a day and a half” by warning both sides of possible trade consequences if hostilities continued.
Turning to Iran, Trump issued a fresh warning, saying strict measures would follow if ongoing negotiations fail. A second round of US-Iran talks is expected next week. While he said Tehran appears more serious this time, he cautioned that another US naval fleet could be deployed if diplomacy collapses.
