Greater and Lesser Tunbs
On 29 November 1971, shortly before the end of the British protectorate and the formation of the United Arab Emirates, Iran and the ruler of Sharjah signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the joint administration of Abu Musa. Under the MoU, Sharjah was to have a local police station on Abu Musa and Iran was to station troops on the island according to a map attached to the MoU. Iran and Sharjah were each to have full jurisdiction in the designated areas and their flags were to continue to fly. The MoU provided for equal distribution of petroleum oil revenues. It has been said that the ruler of Sharjah had no other feasible option but to sign the MoU. He either had to negotiate to save part of his territory or forego the restoration of the remaining part of the island for good. On the same day Iran occupied the Greater and Lesser Tunbs.