Washington: US President Donald Trump on Tuesday (local time) reiterated his claim that he prevented eight wars during the first year of his second term, including a military confrontation between India and Pakistan, asserting that millions of lives were at stake.
Addressing a joint session of Congress during his State of the Union (SOTU) speech, Trump said his administration had restored global stability and credited himself with averting a potential nuclear conflict in South Asia.
“In my first 10 months, I ended eight wars,” Trump said. “Pakistan and India would have had a nuclear war. Thirty-five million people, the Prime Minister of Pakistan told me, would have died if it were not for my involvement.”
In My First 10 Months, I Ended Eight Wars: Trump at SOTU@realDonaldTrump@POTUS@WhiteHouse#Trump #SOTU #POTUS #USPolitics #ForeignPolicy #Peace pic.twitter.com/S4nKfgmBdG
— NewsMobile (@NewsMobileIndia) February 25, 2026
Trump said Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had conveyed that figure to him in discussions following heightened hostilities between the two nuclear-armed neighbours last year.
The U.S. president added that his administration is “working very hard to end a ninth war,” referring to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. “This is a war that never would have happened if I were president,” he said.
Repeated claims on ceasefire
Trump has repeatedly asserted that he brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan in May 2025, announcing at the time on social media that both sides had agreed to a “full and immediate” halt to hostilities after U.S.-mediated talks. He has claimed more than 80 times since then that Washington played a decisive role in stopping the conflict.
The U.S. leader has also said he warned both countries that he would impose 200% tariffs if the fighting did not stop.
However, India has consistently rejected claims of third-party mediation. New Delhi has maintained that the understanding to cease hostilities was reached through direct communication between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of the two militaries.
Operation Sindoor
The latest round of tensions began after a deadly attack in Pahalgam on April 22, 2025, in which 26 civilians were killed. In response, India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting what it described as terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
While Trump continues to frame the truce as a diplomatic victory for Washington, Indian officials have reiterated that no external mediation was involved in reaching the agreement.
