US President Donald Trump has for the umpteenth time claimed credit for stopping a major escalation between India and Pakistan, describing the situation during Operation Sindoor in May last year as one that could have spiralled into a full-scale conflict between two nuclear-armed neighbours.

He has also iterated that eight planes were shot down in the four-day war.

In an interview with Sean Hannity of Fox News, Trump said the India-Pakistan conflict was one of “eight and a quarter” wars – “because you know Thailand and Cambodia had started going at it again – that he had put out.

He felt he should have been given a Nobel Peace Prize for each of them.

Hannity had asked Trump about Venezuelan Opposition leader Maria Carrion Machado’s comment that she wants to give her Nobel Peace Prize to Trump “for liberating” her country.

"Because some of these wars were going on for 30 years,” Trump said. “India-Pakistan was ready to go at it big. And these are two nuclear countries. I got that one stopped. Eight planes were shot down. They were really at it. And I got it stopped. It was a big one.”

In July 2025, during a White House dinner with Republican lawmakers, Trump had said that five jets were shot down. By August that year, he raised the figure to seven fighter jets downed. In October and November 2025, he escalated to eight planes, noting "seven planes were shot down, and the eighth was really badly wounded."

India has said that its air defence systems downed six Pakistani aircraft, including five fighters and a surveillance plane, using the S-400 anti-aircraft system.

Indian strikes also damaged Pakistani air bases, and there were reports of additional Pakistani assets being hit, including a possible airborne early warning and control aircraft, though Pakistan denied significant manned aircraft losses.

Pakistan claimed it had shot down six Indian jets, while India acknowledged losses without giving a number.

Some independent assessments have later claimed that India lost at least four aircraft, including a Rafale, Mirage 2000, MiG-29 and possibly a Su-30MKI, with crash sites identified within Indian territory.

This theory has never been corroborated.

Trump has repeatedly cited the India-Pakistan confrontation as an example of crisis management under his leadership.

India has steadfastly maintained that de-escalation decisions were taken bilaterally and through established military and diplomatic channels.