US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that 11 planes were shot down during the India-Pakistan conflict in May last year. In his speech to the Peace Council, Trump increased the number of jets to 11 from the previous eight.
Trump also said he threatened to impose a “200 percent tariff” and the two countries stopped the conflict because “there’s nothing like money.”
Trump reiterated that he has called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to resolve the conflict, despite India’s rejection of any third-party mediation.
India has denied any claims of fighter jets being downed during its conflict with Pakistan last year. They also rejected Trump’s claim of a US-brokered ceasefire between the two countries.
India has consistently refuted Trump’s claims, saying the ceasefire was reached bilaterally through the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs), without the involvement of third parties.
India also reiterated its longstanding position that any issues with Pakistan, including those related to Jammu and Kashmir, would be resolved bilaterally between the two countries.
Trump’s full statement
At the Peace Council meeting, Trump said, “He (Pakistan’s prime minister) said in front of our chief of staff that President Trump saved 25 million lives when he stopped the war between us and India…That war was raging.”
He added: “Planes were shot down. And I was on the phone with both of them and I knew them a little bit. I knew Prime Minister Modi very well… I called them and said, listen, I’m not going to do two trade deals with you if you don’t sort this out.”
“And suddenly we made a deal. I said if you fight, I’m going to put 200 percent tariffs on each of your countries. They both wanted to fight. But when it comes to money, it’s nothing like money,” Trump said.
“When it came to losing a lot of money, they said, I guess we don’t want to fight… 11 jets were shot down. Very expensive jets,” he added.
Trump has called for an end to the India-Pakistan conflict more than 80 times since May 10 last year, when he announced on social media that the two neighbors had agreed to a “full and immediate” ceasefire following US-brokered talks, news agency PTI reported.
India-Pakistan conflict
Trump was referring to the conflict after the Pahalgam terror attack in April 2025.
India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 last year targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians.