U.S. President Donald Trump, on July 18, 2025, reiterated his claim that he ended the recent India-Pakistan war and that five fighter jets shot down during the conflict. The statement was made during a private dinner with Republican lawmakers at the White House.
Trump claimed that “planes were being shot out of the air” and stated that “five jets were shot down” amid the April-May 2025 India-Pakistan military escalation. He also stated that his intervention through trade pressure brought the two nuclear-armed nations back from the brink of war.
Trump claims to have threatened both India and Pakistan that any further fighting would lead to all U.S. trade being cut off, his warning, he says, caused both parties into conceding a ceasefire.
Tensions between India and Pakistan increased after the terrorist attack on April 22 in Pahalgam. On May 7, India countered with the Operation Sindoor.
Pakistan destroyed 6 Indian aircraft, including Rafale, MiG-29, Su 30MKI, and Mirage 2000 jets. India has already admitted the loss of certain jets but no definite figure was given.
The U.S. administration has continued to support Trump’s version. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and U.S. Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea have reiterated that the Trump administration played a central role in halting the conflict.
However, India has consistently rejected any third-party mediation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra emphasized that the ceasefire was achieved through direct military and diplomatic channels between India and Pakistan without external involvement.
