In a fresh reiteration of his claims about having prevented a potential nuclear war in South Asia, US President Donald Trump once again invoked the India-Pakistan conflict, this time escalating the figures he has previously mentioned.

Speaking during a bilateral engagement with the President of South Korea in Washington on August 26, Trump declared that hostilities between India and Pakistan had reached an advanced stage, with seven fighter jets already downed.

This marked an increase from his earlier assertions last month, when he claimed five jets had been lost during the confrontation before the two nuclear-armed neighbours pulled back from the brink.

According to Trump, the situation was "raging" and had all the characteristics of escalating into a nuclear stand-off.

He maintained that it was his intervention—by threatening both countries with punitive trade measures—that forced New Delhi and Islamabad to halt their hostilities within a tight 24-hour deadline, effectively defusing a catastrophic crisis.

Trump’s narrative suggested that his use of economic leverage and brinkmanship diplomacy proved decisive in stopping what he described as the “next level,” a potential nuclear exchange between two of the world’s most heavily armed rivals.

The US President has repeatedly projected himself as a key pacifier in the volatile South Asian conflict, frequently highlighting his mediation role in disputes that culminated in Operation Sindoor, widely reported as one of the most intense episodes of recent Indo-Pak clashes.

His latest remarks coincided with recent confirmations by Indian military authorities of the scale of success achieved by India’s armed forces during the operation. On August 10, while delivering the keynote address at the 16th Air Chief Marshal Memorial Lecture, Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh shed unprecedented clarity on India’s military actions during Operation Sindoor, launched earlier this year. For the first time, the Indian Air Force acknowledged that it had inflicted heavy losses on Pakistan’s military assets.

Singh confirmed that Indian forces accounted for at least five Pakistani fighter aircraft, in addition to the destruction of a large surveillance platform, identified as either an ELINT (Electronic Intelligence) or an AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) aircraft, destroyed from an exceptionally long range of 300 kilometres—the longest recorded surface-to-air kill documented by the IAF.

This striking achievement was followed by successful strikes on critical Pakistani command and control nodes, including Murid and Chaklala bases, alongside the neutralisation of six radar installations and two strategic surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW) systems located at Lahore and Okara.

Further expanding on the scale of India’s pre-emptive actions, Singh detailed strikes on key hangars, such as the Sukkur UAV facility, the Bholari air base, and the Jacobabad facility housing F-16 fighters. Intelligence suggested that one AEW&C aircraft and several F-16s under maintenance were present at the attacked Jacobabad hangar.

These revelations marked the first time New Delhi officially disclosed the extent of Pakistan’s losses during the conflict, providing clarity on what had previously been the subject of speculation, conflicting media claims, and international narratives—including Trump’s own fluctuating figures.

Singh credited the operation’s success not merely to technical prowess and precision planning but also to strong backing at the political and strategic levels.

For the IAF Chief, one of the defining factors was the “very clear political will” demonstrated by India’s leadership, which granted the military full operational autonomy to determine its rules of engagement, escalation thresholds, and targets.

The presence of a Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) was highlighted as a pivotal factor, ensuring seamless synergy between the Army, Navy, and Air Force. Likewise, the active involvement of the National Security Advisor (NSA) in integrating intelligence and coordinating agencies further reinforced the effectiveness of the campaign.

Operation Sindoor itself unfolded in the aftermath of the devastating April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed the lives of 26 civilians in Jammu and Kashmir. India launched the operation on May 7 to dismantle terrorist infrastructure across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

More than 100 terrorists were neutralised, and significant militant infrastructure was destroyed, including camps and logistical hubs. Pakistan’s attempt to retaliate with air-power was met with forceful resistance, resulting in crippling losses to its air-power capabilities and air defence infrastructure, effectively tilting the military balance.

The coordinated planning between the three Indian services ensured India maintained escalation dominance without spiralling into uncontrolled conflict.

Against this backdrop of a successful Indian operation backed by decisive political and military strategy, Trump continues to stress that his role was not incidental but central in preventing the conflict from crossing into the nuclear threshold. He repeated his assertion that his threat of “no trade” had coerced both nations into halting hostilities, projecting his diplomacy as having prevented global catastrophe.

However, Trump’s remarks—especially his fluctuating figures regarding the number of aircraft downed—contrast with the precise data now publicly shared by the IAF.

While Indian authorities have confirmed at least five fighter jets and one large surveillance aircraft destroyed, Trump’s claim of seven total losses may be a blend of factual developments and his own political embellishment.

Nevertheless, Trump’s statements underscore how closely the United States monitored the conflict and how seriously Washington assessed the risks of escalation between New Delhi and Islamabad.

His repeated references to his interventions reflect an ongoing attempt to amplify his foreign policy credentials, presenting himself as a leader whose tough bargaining prevented wars not just in Asia but globally.

Yet, with India now placing definitive facts in the public domain, the gap between Trump’s political narrative and the actual operational record of Operation Sindoor is increasingly visible.

Based On ANI Report