Donald Trump once again appears to have gotten out over his skis with a major foreign policy blunder, falsely claiming Monday that India, which has ruled out third-party intervention in the long-running Kashmir conflict, tapped him to mediate the dispute. Prime Minister Narendra Modi did no such thing, a spokesperson for his administration quickly countered, though not before Trump’s seemingly off-the-cuff remarks in a meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan sent shockwaves through the Indian government. “We have seen [Trump’s] remarks to the press that he is ready to mediate, if requested by India & Pakistan, on Kashmir issue,” Ravesh Kumar, India’s external affairs spokesperson, said in a statement. “No such request has been made by [Modi]. It has been India’s consistent position that all outstanding issues with Pakistan are discussed only bilaterally.”

The Kashmir region has been contested since the abrupt end of British colonial rule in 1947, with both India and Pakistan laying claim. The two countries have fought three wars over the region, and tensions have been high in recent weeks following the suicide bombing by a self-proclaimed Pakistani jihadist that left dozens of Indian paramilitary members dead. It’s a complex, dangerous situation, and one that India has always insisted should be solved without third-party intervention. Evidently, the president ignored this footnote in his pre-presser briefing. “I was with Prime Minister Modi two weeks ago and we talked about this subject and he actually said, ‘Would you like to be a mediator or arbitrator?’” Trump said. “I said, ‘Where?’ He said, ‘Kashmir.’ Because this has been going on for many, many years. I was surprised how long. It’s been going on a long time.”

As with many Trump pronouncements, the origins of this particular fantasy weren’t immediately clear, but it seemed at least partly a product of his ego, which has repeatedly led him to believe his administration can successfully negotiate an end to decades-long conflicts. (See: North Korea, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.) “I think [India would] like to see it resolved, and I think [Pakistan would] like to see it resolved,” Trump told reporters, sitting with Khan. “And if I can help, I would love to be a mediator.” His remarks continue to reverberate through the Indian government, which erupted in outrage over the alleged request. “If true, PM Modi has betrayed India’s interests & 1972 Shimla Agreement,” tweeted Rahul Gandhi, a member of Parliament. “PM must tell the nation what transpired in the meeting between him & [Trump].”

Trump, who entered office without any government or military experience, has always been a liability on matters of foreign policy thanks to his unique combination of ineptitude and overconfidence. But his Kashmir blooper may be among his biggest global affairs follies, inserting himself into a delicate powderkeg with seemingly no concept of he was doing. “Everyone who knows anything about foreign policy in South Asia knows that India consistently opposes third-party mediation [regarding Kashmir],” Democrat Brad Sherman, chair of the House subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and nonproliferation, said in a tweet Monday. “Trump’s statement is amateurish and delusional. And embarrassing.”

CORRECTION: This article has been updated to reflect the correct spelling of Narendra Modi.

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