US President Donald Trump has again stirred headlines by saying that 10 Indian jets shot down during the May 2025 clash between India and Pakistan. In a recent Fox Business interview, Trump spoke about trade and foreign policy, returning to his narrative about stopping the South Asia conflict.
Trump said he used tariffs as leverage to push both sides toward peace. He claimed that without trade pressure, the India Pakistan May 2025 war might have turned into a nuclear conflict. “They were really going at it,” Trump said, adding that “10 planes were shot down,” though he did not make clear whether those were Indian or Pakistani jets.
This is not the first time Trump has made such claims about aircraft losses. Over the past year, the number he has mentioned has changed several times, starting with five, then seven or eight, and now ten. Trump also repeated an assertion that Pakistan’s Prime Minister thanked him for helping to stop the fighting. He said the prime minister credited him with saving “millions of lives” by forcing a ceasefire through economic pressure.
Trump often framed his tariff threats as a key diplomatic tool, saying he had ended several conflicts around the world by using trade measures. He described his approach as part of a successful foreign policy.
India has rejected claims of any third-party mediation in the ceasefire, insisting that the de-escalation came from direct talks between military leaders. New Delhi maintains that its own negotiations and bilateral command-level discussions brought an end to the fighting.
Tensions began in April 2025 after a deadly attack on civilians in Kashmir, which sparked military responses from both sides. The brief but intense escalation ended in early May with a ceasefire announcement that the US president highlighted in his comments.
Critics say Trump’s shifting figures about downed aircraft raise questions about the accuracy of his narrative. Yet his claim that 10 Indian jets shot down continues to be part of broader discussions about the US role in the conflict and how it was resolved.