UK: FM Hunt threatens 'serious consequences' after Iran seizes British tanker

*NO CUTAWAYS AT SOURCE*
SOT, Jeremy Hunt, UK Foreign Secretary: "Well, the situation as we see it this evening is a situation involving two vessels, the first is the Stena Impero, which was surrounded by four vessels and a helicopter, has changed course and is heading into Iranian waters – 23 crew on board, a British-flagged ship. The second ship, the Mesdar, Liberian-flagged but British-managed, surrounded by 10 speedboats. It's not clear yet whether it has changed course or not. That one has 25 crew, no British nationals in any of the crew but we're obviously concerned about all of the crew."
SOT, Jeremy Hunt, UK Foreign Secretary: "I have spoken to Secretary of State Pompeo of the United States earlier this evening about the situation. I've tried to talk to Foreign Minister Zarif of Iran, but I understand that he's in a plane so I will speak to him as soon as I can."
SOT, Jeremy Hunt, UK Foreign Secretary: "This is completely unacceptable. Freedom of navigation must be maintained. We're having an emergency meeting with the government's COBRA committee in a few minutes time. We will respond in a way that is considered but robust, and we are absolutely clear that if this situation is not resolved quickly, there will be serious consequences."
SOT, Jeremy Hunt, UK Foreign Secretary: "We're not looking at military options, we're looking at a diplomatic way to resolve the situation, but we are very clear that it must be resolved. Freedom of navigation in the Gulf is absolutely essential. If that freedom of navigation is restricted, Iran is the biggest loser. And so it is in their interest to resolve this situation as quickly as possible and we will do everything we can to do that. But, as I say, there will be serious consequences if we're not able to resolve it quickly."
SCRIPT
UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt called Iran's seizure of British linked tankers "unacceptable" and threatened "serious consequences," although the UK government was not looking at military options, he said on Saturday in London before entering a COBRA meeting.
"This is completely unacceptable, freedom of navigation must be maintained, he said. We are absolutely clear that if this situation is not resolved quickly, there will be serious consequences.
He added Iran was the "biggest loser" if freedom of navigation was restricted, and said, "We're not looking at military options; we're looking at a diplomatic way to resolve the situation."
Iran announced it had seized the British-flagged Stena Impero tanker on Friday but denies reports that it seized the British-managed Mesdar, saying the ship was “shortly stopped” by Iranian authorities.
The UK seized an Iranian tanker near Gibraltar on July 4, which was suspected of being on its way to sell oil to Syria in breach of international sanctions, to which Tehran announced it would respond in kind.
Tensions between the United States and Iran have been escalating since Iran announced in May that it would partially withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the nuclear deal which the Obama administration, Iran, the European Union, and the P4+1 signed in 2015 - the Trump administration withdrew from the deal in May 2018, re-imposing sanctions on Iran.