US President Repeats Mediation Claim, Says Both Leaders Initially Refused to Stop Fighting
GYEONGJU, SOUTH KOREA United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday repeated claims of having prevented a ‘war’ between India and Pakistan in May by threatening to impose a massive 250 per cent tariff on both nuclear-armed nations.
Speaking in South Korea during the last stop of his Asia tour, Trump recounted his version of the de-escalation that followed Operation Sindoor, India’s armed response to the Pahalgam terror attack earlier this year.
“If you look at India and Pakistan… they were going at it,” Trump said, claiming “Seven planes were shot down. They were really starting to go.”
Trump stated he then spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistan’s leaders, warning them about the punitive tariffs. “I said I was going to put 250 per cent on each country… which means they will never do business. That was a nice way of saying ‘we don’t want to do business with you’,” the President explained.
According to Trump, both Prime Minister Modi and the Pakistani leaders initially refused his request for a ceasefire. “They both said, ‘no, no, no, you should let us fight’. But after two days they said, ‘we understand’ and stopped fighting,” he claimed.
This tactic of leveraging massive tariffs, also seen recently when the US reportedly menaced Colombia with a 50 per cent tax to accept deported immigrants, has become a core element of the administration’s foreign policy.
India has consistently denied any third-party mediation in the May ceasefire. New Delhi maintains that military action was halted only after a direct request from Islamabad between the two countries’ Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs). Pakistan, however, has previously acknowledged American involvement.
