At Board Of Peace Meet, Trump Reasserts Tariff Threat Stopped India-Pakistan War

Last Updated:February 19, 2026, 23:24 IST

Despite the US President's insistence, the Indian government has consistently and firmly rejected any narrative of third-party mediation

United States President Donald Trump has once again claimed that his personal intervention—leveraging the threat of “200 per cent tariffs"—was the decisive factor in halting a military escalation between India and Pakistan in May last year. Speaking on Thursday at the inaugural session of his “Board of Peace" in Washington, DC, the President stated that the two nuclear-armed neighbours were on the precipice of a “bad nuclear war" before he intervened.

Trump told the assembled dignitaries, including Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, that he had issued a direct ultimatum to both New Delhi and Islamabad. “I called them and I said, listen, I’m not doing trade deals with you two guys if you don’t settle this up," he remarked. He further alleged that the conflict had already seen “11 expensive jets" shot down, a figure he has steadily increased in various retellings of the event over the past year. According to the President, the prospect of losing billions in trade forced both nations to “smoke the peace pipe" within 24 hours of his call.

The claims refer to the intense military standoff in May 2025, with India’s Operation Sindoor. Launched on May 7, the operation was a retaliatory strike against terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan following a deadly attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which claimed the lives of 26 tourists. For several days, the two nations exchanged heavy cross-border fire, involving drones and missiles, marking the most significant escalation in nearly three decades.

Despite the President’s insistence, the Indian government has consistently and firmly rejected any narrative of third-party mediation. New Delhi maintains that the ceasefire, reached on May 10, 2025, was the result of direct, bilateral communication between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of both countries.

Indian officials have repeatedly underlined that there was “no reference to trade" during diplomatic exchanges with Washington at the time. Analysts have also pointed to the massive disparity in trade volumes, noting that while the US is India’s largest trading partner, its trade with Pakistan is relatively marginal, making a uniform “trade penalty" a lopsided and unlikely tool for mediation.

News world At Board Of Peace Meet, Trump Reasserts Tariff Threat Stopped India-Pakistan War

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