Washington, November 19, 2025: US President Donald Trump on Wednesday claimed he prevented a renewed war between nuclear-armed rivals Pakistan and India earlier this year, adding that he has “stopped eight wars” across the globe since taking office.
Speaking at a joint press conference at the Oval Office alongside Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman—who is visiting Washington for the first time in seven years—Trump said he was proud of his administration’s global diplomatic interventions.
“I’ve stopped eight wars… I’ve actually stopped eight wars,” he told reporters. “We stopped India and Pakistan. I could go through the list… I’m very proud. I stopped one that was almost ready to start again.”
Trump appeared to be referring to the May 2025 military escalation between Pakistan and India—the most serious confrontation between the neighbours in decades. The standoff began after a terrorist attack on tourists in Pahalgam in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), which New Delhi blamed on Pakistan. Islamabad denied involvement and offered to participate in a neutral investigation.
The tensions spiralled into an intense military exchange during which Pakistan shot down seven Indian fighter jets, including three Rafales, as well as dozens of drones. After nearly 87 hours of hostilities, a US-brokered ceasefire brought the clashes to an end on May 10.
“The US did engage and helped secure a ceasefire,” Trump noted, adding that Pakistan and India are now “doing well.”
At a previous White House briefing last month, Trump said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had credited him with preventing a potential nuclear war. “The prime minister said to me, ‘Mr. President, you saved millions of lives. You stopped that India war from going nuclear,’” he recounted.
Trump also highlighted what he described as broader diplomatic successes. “Eight wars stopped in nine months—India-Pakistan, Israel-Iran, Rwanda-Congo, Ethiopia-Egypt, Armenia-Azerbaijan, and now Gaza,” he said, while discussing his role in a Gaza deal that included the release of 20 Israeli hostages in exchange for 2,000 Palestinian detainees. He added that he is now working toward ending the Ukraine conflict.
Commenting briefly on Russia, Trump said he was “a little surprised at Putin,” noting that the Ukraine situation was taking longer to resolve than expected.
