US President Donald Trump followed up his threat of 25 per cent tariffs plus penalties on India with the announcement of an oil deal with Pakistan and a rant against Delhi, going from friend to policy bully for his friend Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Trump rubbed it in, saying that Pakistan might sell oil to India "some day" after announcing that Washington has concluded a deal with Islamabad.

"We have just concluded a Deal with the Country of Pakistan, whereby Pakistan and the United States will work together on developing their massive Oil Reserves. We are in the process of choosing the Oil Company that will lead this Partnership. Who knows, maybe they’ll be selling Oil to India some day!" Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

The post came hours after he announced the 25 per cent tariff on India and an additional penalty for Delhi’s purchases of Russian military equipment and energy.

In yet another post on Truth Social, Trump said, "I don’t care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care. We have done very little business with India, their Tariffs are too high, among the highest in the World. Likewise, Russia and the USA do almost no business together. Let’s keep it that way, and tell Medvedev, the failed former President of Russia, who thinks he’s still President, to watch his words. He’s entering very dangerous territory!"

Later, however, he seemed to leave some wiggle room for his “friend”.

"They have one of the highest tariffs in the world now, they're willing to cut it very substantially," Trump told reporters who asked about India. "We're talking to India now - we'll see what happens ... You'll know by the end of this week."

The 25 per cent figure would single out India more severely than other major trading partners, and threaten to unravel months of talks between the two countries, undermining a strategic partner of Washington's and a counterbalance to China.

What the penalty on India would be was not clear. Trump indicated initially, in a post on the Truth Social, that the penalty was a response to India buying Russian arms and oil and its "obnoxious non-monetary Trade Barriers."

Trump has repeatedly accused India of maintaining some of the highest tariffs globally, especially on agricultural products. According to the US administration, India imposes nearly 39 per cent average tariffs on agricultural imports, with even steeper rates on items like vegetable oils (45 per cent), apples, and corn (around 50 per cent).