US President Donald Trump has claimed that Pakistan shot down seven Indian aircraft during the May clashes and that his intervention prevented the conflict from spiralling into a nuclear war.

Speaking at the Oval Office, Trump said tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours had reached a breaking point.

“The war with India and Pakistan was the next level that was going to be a nuclear war… They already shot down seven jets — that was raging.”

Trump asserted that he stepped in at the critical moment, warning both Islamabad and New Delhi that the United States would suspend trade ties if the hostilities did not stop.

“It was this firm stance that stopped the war,” he told reporters.

Boasting of his global diplomacy record, Trump said he had ended “seven major wars” during his tenure, listing the Pakistan-India confrontation among them.

On Gaza crisis

Commenting on the Israeli strike on a Gaza hospital that killed five journalists, Trump said he was deeply concerned and called for an immediate halt to the fighting.

“It is time for the war in Gaza to stop,” he stressed, adding that such “heartbreaking scenes must not be repeated.”

Defends Iran policy

Trump also defended his approach to Iran, saying recent US military operations had struck key targets and were effective in curbing Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.