Trump Claims He Stopped India-Pakistan War With 350% Trade Tariffs

US President Donald Trump has once again claimed that he helped prevent a war between India and Pakistan by threatening both countries with 350% trade tariffs. Speaking at the US-Saudi Investment Forum on Wednesday, Trump said he received personal calls from the leaders of both countries confirming that they would avoid military conflict.

According to Trump, he warned India and Pakistan that he would impose a massive 350% tariff on each country if hostilities continued. He said Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called him to thank him for preventing millions of deaths, and he claimed that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also contacted him to confirm India would not go to war. Trump described the call with Modi in detail, saying he thanked the Indian leader and arranged to “make a deal” to avoid escalation.

Trump has repeatedly made similar claims over the months, saying he brokered the ceasefire between the two nuclear-armed nations following the India-Pakistan ceasefire on May 10. The President’s account has varied over time, with previous statements mentioning tariffs ranging from 200% to 350%.

However, India has officially denied Trump’s claims. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar stated earlier this year that there was no direct phone call between Prime Minister Modi and Trump during the conflict. Only the US Vice President JD Vance reportedly called PM Modi to warn him of a potential Pakistani attack. India emphasized that trade threats were never discussed and that the ceasefire and diplomatic communications were conducted directly between India and Pakistan.

The India-Pakistan tensions escalated in May 2025 after India launched Operation Sindoor in response to a terror attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 people. Despite Trump’s repeated statements claiming credit for preventing war, India maintains that the ceasefire and de-escalation were managed through direct bilateral diplomacy with Pakistan.

Trump’s latest remarks, delivered in front of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, follow a long pattern of exaggerated claims about his influence over international conflicts. Analysts note that while the US may have played a diplomatic role, the narrative of Trump single-handedly stopping a war contradicts official Indian accounts.