US President Donald Trump has described his intervention to defuse tensions between India and Pakistan as a “bigger success” than he will ever receive credit for, noting that the two nuclear-armed neighbours were on the brink of a potentially catastrophic conflict.
Speaking in an interview with Fox News on Friday, Trump said, “A bigger success than I'll ever be given credit for. Those are major nuclear powers. Those are not like a little bit, and they were angry.”
He was responding to a question about his foreign policy achievements before his upcoming Middle East trip. The interviewer referred to a moment when Trump called both New Delhi and Islamabad to urge restraint. Trump confirmed the account, replying, “I did, ya.”
He went on to highlight the gravity of the situation, stating, “And the next phase was probably, did you see where it was getting? It was tit for tat. It was getting deeper and more, I mean, more missiles, everyone was ‘stronger, stronger’, so to a point where the next one's going to be, you know what? The N word. You know the N word is, right?”
When the interviewer responded with “nuclear,” Trump elaborated, “It's the N word. That’s a very nasty word, right? In a lot of ways. The N word used in a nuclear sense, that's the worst thing that can happen. And I think they were very close. The hatred was great.”
Also read: Trump backtracks on mediation claim between India-Pakistan
Trump said he sought to steer the conversation towards trade in an effort to reduce tensions. “We're going to talk about trade. We're going to do a lot of trade,” he said, adding that India had shown a willingness to significantly reduce tariffs. “India… they're one of the highest tariff nations in the world, they make it almost impossible to do business. Do you know that they're willing to cut 100% of their tariffs for the United States?” he said.
When asked about the possibility of a trade deal with India, Trump replied, “Yeah, that'll come soon. I'm in no rush. Look, everybody wants to make a deal with us.”
The interview marked the seventh time in as many days that Trump has claimed credit for easing tensions between the two South Asian nuclear powers. The recent escalation in hostilities followed India’s precision strikes on terror infrastructure under ‘Operation Sindoor’ on 7 May, conducted in retaliation for the 22 April Pahalgam attack that left 26 dead.
Pakistan responded with attempted strikes on Indian military bases on 8, 9, and 10 May. Indian forces launched a counter-offensive, targeting several Pakistani military installations.
After four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes, the two nations agreed to a ceasefire on 10 May following extensive overnight negotiations mediated by Washington.
Trump announced the breakthrough on 10 May, stating that India and Pakistan had agreed to a “full and immediate” ceasefire after a “long night” of talks.
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