Politics
Trump Claims 350% Tariff Threat Averted Pakistan-India Nuclear Conflict
In a special address at the Saudi investment conference on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump once again claimed he prevented a nuclear war between Pakistan and India — a crisis he said could have killed “millions.”
Trump shared the account with his characteristic boast about settling disputes, recounting how he allegedly handled what he described as an imminent armed clash in South Asia.
According to Trump, both countries were “going to go at it, nuclear weapons,” and he said he warned them that Washington would impose a massive tariff if they proceeded.
“I said that’s okay, you can go at it, but I’m putting a 350% tariff on each country,” he told the audience, adding that he refused to “have you guys shooting nuclear weapons at each other, killing millions of people, and having the nuclear dust floating over Los Angeles.”
He said leaders in both capitals initially pushed back, but he claimed he held firm: “They said, ‘We don’t like that.’ I said, ‘I don’t care if you like it or not.’”
Trump then recounted that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called him to acknowledge the intervention.
“He actually said, ‘I saved millions,’” Trump said, adding that the praise was repeated “in front of Susie,” a reference to one of his longtime advisers. “He said, ‘President Trump saved millions and millions of lives.’”
Trump also said he received a call from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shortly afterward.
“I got a call… saying, ‘We’re done,’” Trump claimed. “We’re not going to go to war.”
For Pakistan, the remarks are notable not only because of the nuclear angle but also because Trump rarely speaks so directly about his dealings with Islamabad.
The speech eventually shifted to other matters — including Sudan — with Trump saying Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had urged him to take on a dispute he “didn’t think was going to be so easy to do.”
“He said, ‘Yeah, thank you. Thank you to you,’” Trump remarked, explaining that it wasn’t even on his “charts” but that he would now “start working in Sudan.”
Still, the core of his address returned repeatedly to the same claim: that he used economic pressure — tariffs, primarily — to halt conflicts.
“Five of the eight were settled because of the economy, because of trade,” he said, insisting that no other US president would have used the same approach.
This is not the first time Trump has boasted about stopping a war between two nuclear-armed South Asian rivals.
It was actually the second time during Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman’s visit alone that he mentioned his “peacekeeping.”
Addressing a joint press conference with MBS, who was visiting the US for the first time in seven years, at the Oval Office, Trump said: “I’ve stopped eight wars… I’ve actually stopped eight wars.”
Expressing pride in halting eight conflicts across the globe, the US president on Wednesday claimed that he prevented a war from “restarting” between Pakistan and India.
Earlier this year, the two nations engaged in a military showdown, the worst between the old foes in decades, which was sparked by an attack on tourists in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam area, which New Delhi alleged was backed by Pakistan.
Islamabad denied involvement in the Pahalgam attack, which killed 26 men and offered to participate in a neutral probe into the deadly incident.
During the clashes, Pakistan downed seven Indian fighter jets, including three Rafale, and dozens of drones. After at least 87 hours, the war between the bitter rivals ended on May 10 in a ceasefire agreement brokered by the US.
The US president, during a White House media briefing last month, had said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif credited him with preventing a catastrophic nuclear war with India that could have killed millions.
Trump asserted he had halted eight wars, including recent Gaza breakthrough, and is pushing to end the Ukraine conflict.
He also highlighted his broader diplomatic record. “Eight wars stopped in nine months — Pakistan-India, Israel-Iran, Rwanda-Congo, Ethiopia-Egypt, Armenia-Azerbaijan, and now Gaza.
I’m working on Ukraine next,” he had said, touting his mediation of a Gaza deal that saw 20 Israeli hostages freed and 2,000 Palestinian detainees swapped.
ABU DHABI: Abu Dhabi’s new Zayed International Airport has introduced a free SIM and internet service for all passengers arriving from abroad.
Each passenger will receive a complimentary SIM card loaded with 10GB of data, valid for 24 hours, allowing visitors to access essential services immediately after landing.
According to airport officials, the service will help passengers use maps, taxi apps, payment services, messaging and Abu Dhabi travel guides without delay.
Zayed International Airport is among the region’s fastest-growing aviation hubs, serving airlines from more than 30 countries, including Pakistan, and offering flights to more than 100 cities worldwide.
The new terminal has handled 23.9 million passengers up to September this year.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Thursday adopted a resolution that called on Iran to provide it with access and information regarding its nuclear programme, as required under UN resolutions.
The vote came a day after the head of the IAEA renewed his call for Tehran to allow inspections at key nuclear sites attacked by Israel and the United States in June.
Tensions between Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog have repeatedly flared in recent years and were further inflamed after a 12-day war in June that saw Israeli and US strikes on key Iranian nuclear facilities.
Since the war, agency inspectors have not been granted access to sites such as Fordo and Natanz, which were hit in the strikes, but they have been able to visit other sites.
Thursday’s resolution “urges Iran to comply fully and without delay with its legal obligations under […] UNSC resolutions and to extend full and prompt cooperation to the IAEA, including by providing such information and access that the Agency requests,” according to the text.
The vote was passed with 19 for, three against and 12 abstentions.
“We have performed a number of inspections, but we have not been able to go to the attack sites. I hope we will be able. Indeed, we have to go because this is part of Iran’s commitments,” IAEA head Rafael Grossi told reporters on Wednesday, after opening the regular board meeting of the Vienna-based agency.
“I hope we’ll be able to move in a constructive manner.”
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday evening rejected any cooperation with the IAEA “regarding the bombed sites”.
“We only cooperate regarding nuclear facilities that have not been affected, in compliance with IAEA regulations,” he stated on Telegram.
TEXAS: In a highly unusual and politically charged move, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has issued a proclamation designating the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as “terrorist” and “transnational criminal organisations”, effectively banning both groups and anyone associated with them from purchasing land in the state.
The declaration was made despite the fact that neither the Muslim Brotherhood nor CAIR appears on the United States government’s official list of terrorist organisations. CAIR, the country’s largest Muslim civil rights group, condemned Abbott’s action as baseless, unconstitutional and an open display of Islamophobia.
The organisation accused the governor of weaponising conspiracy theories to target Muslim communities, warning that any attempt to formalise this proclamation into policy would be met with legal challenge.
Observers say the governor’s announcement cannot be separated from the controversy surrounding EPIC City, a proposed Muslim-led residential development near Dallas.
Abbott and other Republican officials had previously opposed the project, passing legislation against so-called “Sharia compounds”, despite the absence of any evidence suggesting the development sought to impose Islamic law or operate outside state regulations. Federal civil rights investigators also closed their inquiry into the project without filing charges.
Critics argue that linking CAIR to the Muslim Brotherhood revives a long-discredited narrative used to undermine Muslim community institutions and restrict their right to organise or collectively own property.
Republican state representative Cole Hefner welcomed Abbott’s decision, calling it necessary “to keep the state safe”. But Texas State Representative Salman Bhojani, one of the few Muslim lawmakers in the state, denounced the move as an attack on religious freedom.
He said Muslim Texans deserve the same dignity, trust and civil liberties as every other community, urging the governor to reverse what he called a harmful and discriminatory proclamation.
Abbott’s designation has intensified fears among civil rights advocates, who warn that the move could pave the way for further restrictions on Muslim civic life in Texas.
Legal experts maintain that the authority to classify groups as foreign terrorist organisations lies exclusively with the federal government, raising serious constitutional questions around the governor’s unilateral declaration.
Muslim organisations and human rights groups say the proclamation reflects an escalating political effort to marginalise Muslims under the guise of state security, marking what they describe as a troubling new chapter in Islamophobic policymaking in the United States.
One of Müller, Son dream MLS debuts will end in Vancouver-LAFC playoff clash
US stocks today: Wall Street trades in green on hopes of another Fed rate cut; Dow jumps over 660 points, Nasdaq near 2.5% gains – The Times of India
Kourtney Kardashian interrupts Kim’s terrifying tale, blames ‘mom brain’
New carbon capture method uses water and pressure to remove CO₂ from emissions at half current costs
British-Pakistani honoured for transforming UK halal meat industry
Texas A&M officer scolds South Carolina wide receiver after touchdown; department speaks out
-
Tech5 days agoNew carbon capture method uses water and pressure to remove CO₂ from emissions at half current costs
-
Politics7 days agoBritish-Pakistani honoured for transforming UK halal meat industry
-
Sports5 days agoTexas A&M officer scolds South Carolina wide receiver after touchdown; department speaks out
-
Business5 days agoThese 9 Common Money Mistakes Are Eating Your Income
-
Sports6 days agoApple scrapping MLS Season Pass service in ’26
-
Business6 days agoWhat’s behind Rachel Reeves’s hokey cokey on income tax rises?
-
Fashion6 days agoAfter London, Leeds and Newcastle, next stop Glasgow for busy Omnes
-
Tech6 days ago$25 Off Exclusive Blue Apron Coupon for November 2025