New York/Washington: US President Donald Trump has reiterated his claim that he prevented a war between India and Pakistan last year from escalating into a nuclear conflict, by threatening tariffs.

In an interview with Fox Business on Tuesday, Trump said he had “settled eight wars”, adding that at least six of them were resolved through the use of tariffs. “If you don’t settle this war, I’m going to charge you tariffs, because I don’t want to see people getting killed,” he said.

Trump claimed that India and Pakistan were on the brink of nuclear war after a series of escalations, including the downing of ten aircraft. “They were really going at it… It would have been a nuclear war, in my opinion,” he said.

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He also said that the Prime Minister of Pakistan had thanked him, claiming he was told that Trump “saved at least 10 million lives” by intervening. “Because they were going to go nuclear, in my opinion. Without tariffs, that wouldn’t happen,” he added.

Trump has repeatedly taken credit for halting the conflict between the two nuclear-armed neighbours, making the claim more than 80 times since May 2025, when he announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a “full and immediate” ceasefire following talks mediated by Washington.

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India has consistently denied any third-party intervention in the de-escalation.

The tensions followed India’s launch of Operation Sindoor on 7 May last year, aimed at dismantling terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the Pahalgam attack on 22 April, which killed 26 civilians.