US President Donald Trump has rubbed more salt into India’s wounds saying up to five fighter jets were shot down during recent Pakistan-India hostilities that began after Pahalgam attack in Occupied Kashmir in April, with the situation calming after a ceasefire was announced in May. President Trump, yet again, took the credit for “stopping a lot of wars”, including the one between nuclear countries India and Pakistan. He reiterated his remarks despite India's denial of his claims about a “US-brokered” deal between India and Pakistan during May 2025 conflict.

President Trump, who made his remarks at a dinner with some Republican US lawmakers at the White House on Friday, did not specify which side's jets he was referring to. However, it was obvious that the aircraft were Indian as Pakistan has said from the day one that it had shot down six Indian warplanes during the four-day conflict. Later, some senior Indian officials also admitted losing the jets in clashes with Pakistan. "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 said while talking about the India-Pakistan hostilities, without elaborating or providing further detail. The US President said, “We stopped a lot of wars. And these were serious, India and Pakistan, that was going on.” This time, however, he backed a claim about shooting down of five jets. “Planes were being shot out of there. I think five jets were shot down, actually,” Trump said.

 Trump reiterated that the US solved the conflict between India and Pakistan “through trade”. “You know, it seems like a new form of warfare. You saw it recently when you looked at what we did in Iran, where we knocked out their nuclear capability, totally knocked out that... But 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 said.

 “We said, you guys want to make a trade deal. We're not making a trade deal if you're going to be throwing around weapons, and maybe nuclear weapons, both very powerful nuclear states,” Trump added. Pakistan claimed it downed six Indian planes in air-to-air combat. India's highest-ranking general said in late May that India switched tactics after suffering losses in the air on the first day of hostilities and established an advantage before a ceasefire was announced three days later. 

Trump has repeatedly claimed credit for the ceasefire between India and Pakistan that he announced on social media on May 10 after Washington held talks with both sides. India has differed with Trump's claims that it resulted from his intervention and his threats to sever trade talks. Air Marshal AK Bharti, the Director General of Air Operations (DGAO), had neither denied nor confirmed the claims. He, instead, said that “losses are a part of any combat scenario”.