After the warnings by Iranian officials about the responses to the seizure of the Iranian supertanker in Gibraltar and the failed attempt by the IRGC to block a British tanker, the foreign minister of Britain Jeremy Hunt stated: “It has become clear for us that Iran does not intend to de-escalate the tensions.”

Hunt continued: “We want to avoid a military conflict with Iran which could be very dangerous.”

Hunt, who is fighting a battle with Boris Johnson over the leadership of the Tory party, says “we have run down the navy too much” in recent decades. He promised to add more warships to the fleet if he became the prime minister.

His comments came after it emerged a Royal Navy warship drove off IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) boats as they attempted to impede the progress of a British tanker through the Strait of Hormuz.

Mr. Hunt wrote in the Daily Telegraph: “Three vessels from a foreign military power tried to seize a British ship conducting its rightful business. The simplicity of these words belies the incredible menace behind Iran’s actions. Not for the first time, Britain’s interests were defended by the Royal Navy.”

Mr. Hunt’s rival Boris Johnson said the UK would remain “very, very tough on Iran”.