WASHINGTON (Dunya News) - US President Donald Trump has now raised the tally of aircraft shot down during the May 2025 conflict between Pakistan and India to 10, claiming that he played a decisive role in preventing a major nuclear war between two countries.
In an interview with an American news channel, Trump said he used tariffs as a strategic tool to de-escalate tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.
He asserted that he had ended eight wars, at least six of which were halted due to tariff threats.
“I told them if you don’t stop the war, I will impose tariffs,” Trump said, adding that he did not want to see people dying.
According to the US President, the situation between India and Pakistan was extremely tense and could have escalated into a nuclear confrontation.
“Like India and Pakistan would’ve been a nuclear war in my opinion. They were really going at it. Ten planes were shot down. They were going at it,” he added.
Trump further stated that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif appreciated his role in preventing a nuclear conflict and acknowledged that his intervention helped save at least 10 million lives by easing regional tensions.
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“Because, see, they were going to nuclear, in my opinion. Without tariffs, that (ceasefire) wouldn’t have happened,” the US president asserted.
During the interview, Trump also termed “every single” US president during the last 50 years as “bad on trade”.
“But I’m not bad on trade. I’m real good on trade,” he boasted.
The US President also claimed that he resolved the decades-long conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia within a day and a half by warning both sides of potential trade actions if fighting continued.
Meanwhile, Trump issued another warning to Iran, saying strict measures would follow if ongoing negotiations fail.
A second round of US-Iran talks is expected next week. He said Tehran appears more serious this time but warned that another naval fleet could be deployed if diplomacy collapses.