Combination image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif

U.S. President Donald Trump has said he settled tension between India and Pakistan after threatening the two countries with 350% tariffs and claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called him to say “we’re not going to go to war.”

Mr. Trump has repeated the claim over 60 times that he “helped settle” tension between India and Pakistan in May this year, even as India has consistently denied any third-party intervention.

“…I’m good at settling disputes, and I’ve always been. I’ve done very well with that over the years, even before this. I was talking about the different wars… India, Pakistan… they were going to go at it, nuclear weapons,” Mr. Trump said on Wednesday (November 19, 2025).

Speaking at the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum attended by visiting Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman, Mr. Trump said that he told the two nuclear-armed neighbours that they “can go at it, but I’m putting a 350% tariff on each country. No more trade with the United States.”

Claiming that both India and Pakistan told him not to do it, Mr. Trump said that he told them, “I’m going to do it. Come back to me and I’ll take it down. But I’m not going to have you guys shooting nuclear weapons at each other, killing millions of people and having the nuclear dust floating over Los Angeles. I’m not going to do it’.”

Mr. Trump then said that he was “all set” and told Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that he will put a 350% tariff to settle the conflict, and added, if the countries stopped the war, “we’ll make a nice trade deal,” as they are in the midst of the negotiations for the trade deal.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia at the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum in Washington, D.C.
| Photo Credit:
Reuters

“Now, no other president would have done that… I used tariffs to settle all these wars, not all of them. Five of the eight were settled because of the economy, because of trade, because of tariffs,” Trump said. “I did this.” He added that Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called him and thanked him, in front of White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, for saving millions of lives.

Trump-Modi call

Mr. Trump then claimed that he “got a call from Prime Minister Modi saying, ‘we’re done’. I said, ‘You’re done with what?’” Mr. Trump said and claimed Mr. Modi replied: “We’re not going to go to war.”

Mr. Trump said he then thanked Mr. Modi and said, “Let’s make a deal.”

The U.S. president also added that he saved a lot of people, millions of people, in many other wars. Mr. Trump had repeated the claim that he stopped the war between India and Pakistan a day earlier, too, during a bilateral meeting with the Saudi Crown Prince in the Oval Office.

Since May 10, when Mr. 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 repeated his claim over 60 times that he “helped settle” the tensions between India and Pakistan.

India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians.

India has consistently denied any third-party intervention and maintained that the understanding on cessation of hostilities with Pakistan was reached on May 10 following direct talks between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of the two militaries.

Published – November 20, 2025 10:52 am IST