A Christmas gift to the world? Wars and conflicts Trump says he ended in 2025

On Jan. 20, 2025, the American people knew President Donald Trump’s agenda included securing the southern border, removing criminal illegal aliens from the country, ending woke policies within the federal government, and increasing American energy production.

But what Americans did not realize was just how concerned Trump would be during his first year in office with ending conflicts around the world.

“I’ve restored American strength, settled eight wars in 10 months, destroyed the Iran nuclear threat, and ended the war in Gaza, bringing for the first time in 3,000 years peace to the Middle East, and secured the release of the hostages, both living and dead,” Trump said during an address to the nation on Dec. 17.

Not every conflict the president was involved in was a war, and tensions between some nations have not been fully resolved since Trump’s involvement, but the Trump administration has demonstrated a propensity for peace-making.

India and Pakistan

Just four months into Trump’s second term, tension exploded between Pakistan and India with the two nations engaging in missile strikes and drone attacks. Both nations are nuclear-armed, raising concerns over a full-fledged war between the neighboring South Asian countries.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance spoke with leaders from both nations, helping to facilitate a ceasefire in May.

Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda

In June, the Trump administration facilitated a peace agreement between the Congo and Rwanda. The peace deal ended a 30-year conflict in Africa between the two.

The conflict between the nations stemmed from the 1994 Rwandan genocide, which left about 800,000 people dead.

Trump hosted the foreign ministers of the two countries at the White House in June after both sides agreed to a deal to end the fighting. The U.S.-mediated deal also provided the U.S. access to critical minerals in Congo.

Israel and Iran

Israel carried out strikes against Iran in June, specifically targeting Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. Iran responded with strikes on Israel, and the two nations engaged in a 12-day war.

The fighting came to an end when the U.S. struck three of Iran’s key nuclear facilities.

Serbia and Kosovo

Ethnic tensions and disagreements over sovereignty are at the root of years of conflict between Serbia and Kosovo.

Serbia has long claimed Kosovo is part of its territory, but Kosovo believes it is its own sovereign state.

In June, Trump said he stopped Serbia and Kosovo from “a big-time war.”

“I have a friend in Serbia, and they said we’re going to go to war again. And I won’t mention that it’s Kosovo, but it’s Kosovo,” Trump said. “But they were going to have a big-time war and we stopped it. We stopped it because of trade. They want to trade with the United States.”

“I said, ‘We don’t trade with people that go to war,’” Trump added.

Thailand and Cambodia

For more than a century, Thailand and Cambodia have had a territorial dispute over their border and ownership of certain historical sites.

Tensions escalated between the two countries in May when a skirmish broke out between Thai and Cambodian forces and a Cambodian soldier was killed. In July, Thailand and Cambodia engaged in five days of deadly fighting.

The Trump administrated stepped in to help broker a ceasefire, which ended the fighting. The conflict flared again in December, but efforts are underway to establish a permanent ceasefire.

“I had a very good conversation this morning with the Prime Minister of Thailand, Anutin Charnvirakul, and the Prime Minister of Cambodia, Hun Manet, concerning the very unfortunate reawakening of their long-running War,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Dec. 12. “They have agreed to CEASE all shooting effective this evening, and go back to the original Peace Accord made with me, and them, with the help of the Great Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim.”

“Both Countries are ready for PEACE and continued Trade with the United States of America,” according to Trump.

Egypt and Ethiopia

The waters of the Nile are at the center of the most recent conflict between Egypt and Ethiopia. Egypt relies on the Nile for its freshwater supply. As the Atlantic Council puts it, the Nile is “Egypt’s national bloodstream.”

The Blue Nile flows through Ethiopia into the Nile and provides the Nile with 86% of its water supply. This year, Ethiopia inaugurated its new Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile. Egypt fears Ethiopia could use the dam to limit or even cut off water flows between the rivers, which would lead to devastating consequences for Egypt.

In July, Trump announced that he was working to resolve the water tension between the two nations.

Discussions are ongoing, but Egypt and Ethiopia have yet to sign a formal deal on the terms of operating the dam.

Armenia and Azerbaijan

Armenia and Azerbaijan spent years fighting over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but the population is largely Armenian. Earlier this year, the U.S. brokered negotiations that led the two nations to take a significant step toward peace.

In August, Trump hosted Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at the White House. The two leaders signed a joint declaration of peace, ending the fighting that began in the 1990s.

Leaders from Armenia and Azerbaijan have also “signed bilateral economic agreements with the U.S.,” according to the White House.

Israel and Hamas

In September, Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire based on Trump’s 20-point plan aimed at ending the two-year war that began after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, resulting in the death of 1,200 people and another 251 being taken hostage.

The deal led to the release of all 20 living hostages and the remains of 27 deceased hostages. The remains of one hostage are still in Gaza.

Israel Defense Forces has pulled back to a denoted “yellow line” in Gaza and fighting has largely stopped. A formal peace agreement to officially end the war has not yet been signed.

[Editor’s note: This story originally was published by The Daily Signal.]