Two “very smart” leaders of India and Pakistan decided to end last month’s conflict that could have turned into a nuclear war, US President Donald Trump said after holding a rare luncheon meeting with Pakistan Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir in White House. Trump said he was “happy” that “two very smart people decided not to keep going with that war.” “That could have been a nuclear war. Those are two nuclear powers, big ones, big, big nuclear powers, and they decided that (to end the conflict),” he said.

Hours before hosting Munir, Trump had again claimed credit for ending the conflict, but he did not repeat it in his media remarks after the meeting. “The reason I had him here, I want to thank him (Munir) for not going into the war; ending the war. And I want to thank, as you know, Prime Minister Modi,” Trump said. This is the first time in weeks that Trump did not take credit for stopping the military conflict after India on May 7 launched Operation Sindoor and destroyed terror infrastructure in Pakistan-controlled areas following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives.

Since May 10, when India and Pakistan decided to stop the military conflict, Trump has repeatedly claimed on multiple occasions that he helped settle tensions between the two countries. It was clear from Trump's media comments that the last month's conflict between India and Pakistan as well as the situation arising out of the Iran-Israel standoff figured prominently in his meeting with Munir. The US president also recalled his meeting with PM Modi in the White House in February. “We're working on a trade deal with India. We're working on a trade deal with Pakistan,” Trump said.