Europe's outcry mounts over Iran's tanker seizure, U.K. stresses 'desire to deescalate'
The U.K. government's emergency security committee on July 20 "reaffirmed" a "desire to de-escalate" but insisted Iran's military acted illegally when it seized a U.K.-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz a day earlier, according to British Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt.
"This is totally and utterly unacceptable. It raises very serious questions about the security of British shipping, and indeed international shipping, in the Strait of Hormuz," Hunt said after the meeting of the government's so-called COBR security officials.
He said Parliament would be "updated" on the situation on July 22.
The seizure of the Stena Impero and its 23 crew members, along with the nearly simultaneous detention and release of another U,K.-flagged ship, in the strategic shipping route between the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman has exacerbated already high tensions between Tehran and the West amid accusations and counteraccusations for a recent spate of confrontations in the region.