"Both ministers agreed with the foreign secretary that safe passage for vessels through the Strait of Hormuz is a top priority for European nations, while avoiding any possible escalation," it said in a statement.

"They agreed to keep in close contact and to work together to achieve this," the statement said.

Prime Minister Theresa May will hold a meeting of Britain's emergencies committee on Monday to discuss the seizure of the Swedish-owned Stena Impero.

Iranian authorities impounded the Stena Impero with 23 crew members aboard off the port of Bandar Abbas after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps seized it Friday in the highly sensitive Strait of Hormuz.