United Nations Security Council Resolution 340
UN Resolution 340 reinforces the October War ceasefire
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Original prompt & settings (JSON) ↗Resolution 340 tried to turn the clock back to one precise moment: 16:50 GMT on 22 October.
The Council’s third try in four days
On 25 October 1973 the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 340, demanding an immediate and complete ceasefire and a return to the positions held at 16:50 GMT on 22 October.
It was not the first attempt. Resolution 338 had been adopted on 22 October and Resolution 339 on 23 October; Israel had continued its advance through both. This time Israel accepted.
The nuclear alert that came first
Earlier the same day, the United States placed its nuclear forces on worldwide alert after Leonid Brezhnev suggested Soviet forces might act unilaterally to enforce the ceasefire. The immediate superpower crisis subsided once Resolution 340 was adopted.
The resolution also created the Second United Nations Emergency Force under Security Council authority, supplementing the UN observers already on the ground, to supervise the ceasefire and move between the armies.
Why “the war ends” is too clean
The armies did not return to their 22 October positions merely because the resolution demanded it, and Israel’s encirclement of Egypt’s Third Army was not lifted by the vote.
Some military histories report heavy fighting on the Egyptian front into 26 October and intermittent clashes afterward, so 25 October marks an operational ceasefire rather than the end of every hostile act.
It was also not a peace: Egyptian–Israeli disengagement arrangements followed in November 1973 and January 1974.
Sources
Researched 24 Aug 2026 5 sources not yet audited Date disputed
How this was checked
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Date disputed. Sources disagree about when this happened.
What the sources leave uncertain
- October 25 is the conventional official endpoint because Resolution 340 secured acceptance of a reinforced ceasefire. Some military histories report heavy fighting on the Egyptian front into October 26 and intermittent clashes afterward, so describing every hostile act as ending on October 25 is too absolute.
- The term “war ends” refers to the operational ceasefire, not a peace treaty. Egyptian-Israeli disengagement arrangements followed in November 1973 and January 1974.