‘I was in the room’: Jaishankar reveals Modi-Vance talk during Op Sindoor; counters Donald Trump

NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday disclosed key details of a conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US Vice President JD Vance that occurred on the eve of India’s retaliatory strike against Pakistan, known as Operation Sindoor.

Speaking during a public interaction following a Newsweek interview held at One World Trade Centre in Manhattan, Jaishankar responded to a question about former US President Donald Trump’s claim that he had used trade pressure to prevent an India-Pakistan escalation. “No, I don’t think so,” Jaishankar said, adding that trade negotiations had proceeded on their own merit. “The trade people are doing what they should be doing — negotiating lines, numbers, products. They’re very professional and focused.”

Jaishankar then described a high-level exchange that took place on the night of May 9. “I was in the room when Vice President Vance spoke to Prime Minister Modi,” he said. “He conveyed that the Pakistanis were preparing for a massive assault if we did not accept certain things.”

According to Jaishankar, Modi remained unshaken. “The Prime Minister was impervious to the threats. In fact, he conveyed that there would be a response from our side,” Jaishankar recalled.

He added that shortly after the Pakistani assault, India launched a swift counterstrike. “The Pakistanis did attack us massively that night. We responded very quickly thereafter.”

The next morning, Jaishankar said he received a call from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. “Rubio called me and said the Pakistanis were ready to talk. That’s what I personally witnessed.”

Operation Sindoor was launched in retaliation for the Pahalgam massacre, for which The Resistance Front, affiliated with Lashkar-e-Taiba, had claimed responsibility. Indian forces targeted terror infrastructure in Bahawalpur and Muridke inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.