Has Trump actually ended 8 wars? No
Friday, 17 October 2025
ANALYSIS: US President Donald Trump is embracing a new title: the “President of Peace”. He’s repeatedly touted his role in ending global conflicts and now claims to have resolved eight wars, a number he’s quickly bumped up from seven, having achieved a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
“Yesterday I was saying seven, but now I can say eight,” the president declared in Israel this week.
While the Gaza deal marks a significant, albeit fragile, step toward stability in the region, the rest of Trump’s claimed peace achievements are a mixed bag. Some are fair. Others are exaggerated. Some don’t appear to be wars at all.
Here’s the breakdown.
1. Armenia and Azerbaijan
After nearly four decades of intermittent conflict, the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan were hosted at the White House, where a peace agreement was signed earlier this year. Trump can take credit for this deal, although he later confused which countries he had brokered peace for.
“We settled, Aber, Aberjajan and Albania… it was never gonna be settled.”
2. Cambodia and Thailand
In July, a violent clash along the Cambodia-Thailand border killed at least 38 people, most of them civilians.
Trump reportedly pressured both sides by threatening to suspend trade talks if a ceasefire wasn’t reached. Within days fighting stopped, although the core dispute over the border remains unresolved.
3. Israel and Iran
Trump was critical to ending the 12-day war between Israel and Iran. He deployed American warplanes to drop bunker-buster bombs on Iran’s nuclear facilities, which led to the eventual ceasefire.
“Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace,” the president declared.
4. India and Pakistan
Across April/May of this year, India and Pakistan came dangerously close to open conflict - their most serious standoff in decades. Trump stepped in, seemingly out of the blue, to claim he had personally brokered a ceasefire.
He was thanked for his efforts by Pakistan, but India has downplayed the US involvement - saying the agreement was reached directly between the two countries.
5. Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo
This conflict is one of the most prolonged and complicated in the world. Trump’s efforts to broker peace have been significant, but he is far from alone in making them.
He did, however, manage to host peace talks between Rwanda and the DRC earlier this year, culminating in a signed deal. However, the most extreme rebel group was not part of the talks or the deal and the deadly fighting in the region continues.
6. Egypt and Ethiopia
Egypt and Ethiopia are not - and were not - at war. The two countries are locked in a bitter dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, but the countries have not engaged in armed conflict.
“I’ll say it loud and clear, they’ll blow up that dam,” Trump has claimed, but escalation never materialised.
7. Serbia and Kosovo
This is another curious claim from the president. The two states have experienced long-standing tensions since Kosovo declared independence in 2008, but these tensions have not escalated to full-scale war. Peace in the region is largely maintained by Nato peacekeepers, not presidential diplomacy.
Notably absent from the president’s list is Ukraine. Despite repeated promises to end the war “within 24 hours,” the conflict continues, with no sign of resolution under Trump’s leadership.
As Trump leans into his legacy as a peacemaker, the facts suggest a more complicated, and sometimes questionable, track record.