Trump Claims 5 Jets Downed in India-Pak Clash, Renews Ceasefire Mediation Boast
Former U.S. President Donald Trump has claimed that “four or five” jets were shot down during the May 2025 conflict between India and Pakistan, without specifying which country the aircraft belonged to. Speaking at a White House dinner with Republican lawmakers, Trump also reiterated his assertion that his administration successfully mediated a ceasefire between the two nuclear powers by leveraging trade negotiations.
“In fact, planes were being shot out of the air. Five, five, four or five, but I think five jets were shot down actually,” Trump stated.
The claims about aircraft losses during the four-day conflict have been a point of contention. Pakistan has asserted it shot down six Indian aircraft, including Rafale jets. Conversely, Indian officials like Air Marshal AK Bharti stated that India downed several “high-tech” Pakistani jets.
#WATCH | Washington, D.C.: US President Donald Trump says, "We stopped a lot of wars. And these were serious, India and Pakistan, that was going on. Planes were being shot out of there. I think five jets were shot down, actually. These are two serious nuclear countries, and they… pic.twitter.com/MCFhW406cT
— ANI (@ANI) July 18, 2025
India’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Anil Chauhan, has since acknowledged that India lost an unspecified number of fighter jets during the initial phase of the hostilities. However, he dismissed Pakistan’s claim of downing six Indian jets as “absolutely incorrect”. General Chauhan emphasized that the Indian armed forces quickly identified and corrected “tactical mistakes,” enabling them to strike deep inside Pakistan in the following days. “What is important is that, not the jet being down, but why they were being down… Why they were down, what mistakes were made—that is important. Numbers are not important,” he said.
Trump Repeats Ceasefire Claim
During the same event, Trump repeated his claim that his administration prevented a larger war. “India and Pakistan were going at it, and they were back and forth, and it was getting bigger and bigger, and we got it solved through trade,” he remarked.
This narrative has been consistently refuted by New Delhi. Indian officials have maintained that the ceasefire, announced on May 10, was brokered directly through communication between the two countries’ Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) without any third-party involvement. According to India’s Ministry of External Affairs, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had personally told Trump in a phone call that the U.S. played no role and that trade was never discussed in the context of de-escalation.