The MOU contains ambiguities that need to be clarified or cases of application that need to be specified. The implementation notes will clarify certain practical situations. The implementation notes will be issued by the body responsible for supervising and monitoring the ceasefire. Since this body is in contact with all parties, the implementation notes will be discussed and approved at this level. There must be a list of approved implementation notes. This implementation note must be discussed and then approved by the parties concerned (Oman, Iran, and possibly the UAE and the U.S.).

This is a concrete example of how to avoid certain violations that occurred following the initial implementation of the MOU.

Situation: A vessel is no longer within the temporary navigable channels established prior to the completion of mine clearance. What is the applicable procedure for bringing the vessel back into the navigable channels?

Procedure: Firing upon the vessel or the use of military force against it is considered a violation of the ceasefire.

The first step in the procedure is to make all possible radio calls.

The second step is to send a patrol boat to the vessel and board it. This patrol boat belongs to the country whose territorial waters the vessel is in.

Patrol boats operating simultaneously in the territorial waters of multiple countries (Oman and Iran, for example) could be authorized by the Persian Gulf Council as part of a unified management system for the Strait of Hormuz. If this is the case, they must fly a flag representing the Persian Gulf Council in addition to the flag of the patrol boat’s home country.

In short, the purpose of this implementing note is to prevent any one party from claiming the right to attack a vessel to enforce compliance with the waterways. It is virtually certain that, without such an implementing note, the Iranian side will consider it its role to enforce compliance with the defined temporary waterways by military force, which will result in a violation and likely an associated escalation by

This implementing note is intended to anticipate this situation and incorporate it, as of now, into the authorized practices in the Strait of Hormuz.

There will be other implementing notes on other topics, which should anticipate specific situations that may arise and for which there could be ambiguity in the interpretation of the MOU. We are not going to renegotiate an MOU for every potential problem, but we can propose an implementing note if it concerns a possible situation that could actually arise locally.

August 24, 2026

Naej DRANER (naej.draner)