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Defense Minister Tobias Ellwood has dismissed the accusation that a British-flagged tanker seized by Iran in the Gulf could have been better protected, and said the UK's priority should be to be defusing the tensions.
Ellwood also called for more spending for the Royal Navy, and said the US's decision to withdraw from the Iranian nuclear deal had played a role in mounting tensions in the region.
Among critics of the British government's actions prior to the seizure of Stena Impero in what the British regard as international waters include Admiral Lord West, the former first lord of the seas.
In the Observer, West said the ministers should have done more, suggesting that the makers of these decisions were distracted by Theresa May's race for succession.
But on Sunday's show of Sophy Ridge's Sky program on the UK, Ellwood said, "No, not at all."
While the United Kingdom was sending another destroyer and support ship to the area, he said, British ships were traveling 100 nautical miles of waterways every day. "It is impossible to escort each ship individually," he said.
Ellwood added that the situation had also changed rapidly. "Let's put this in context – it's a sudden activity, a threat that has increased in recent weeks. And it takes time to answer.
When asked what the answer should be, he said: "First, we must try to defuse the situation. We have witnessed rising tensions in the Middle East. "
The situation regarding the oil tanker was, he said, "part of the larger geopolitical challenge facing Iran with the West".
Ellwood said: "Our first and most important responsibility is therefore to ensure that we have a solution to the problem regarding the current vessel, to ensure that other British flag vessels can operate safely in these waters, then to consider the broader vision of correct and professional working relationships with Iran.
"But it's a hostile act, do not stray from it. This is a serious problem that Iran must recognize. "
When asked if sanctions were possible, Ellwood said the government's Cobra emergency committee met on Saturday. "So we're looking at the operational responsibilities of this project, but we're going to look at a range of options."
He called for investing more money in defense. "If we want to continue to play a role in the international arena, keeping in mind that the threats are changing and that all are happening just below the threshold of total war, we must invest more in our defense, including in the Royal Navy.
"Our Royal Navy is too small to manage our interests around the world, if they are our future intentions, and the next Prime Minister will have to recognize it."
When asked if the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal had played a role, Ellwood said, "There are fears that we will have a difference of opinion with the United States on nuclear power itself. France, Germany and ourselves believe that they have borne fruit and prevented the development of nuclear weapons in Iran.
"We can not deny that this tactical threat and escalating problems in the Strait of Hormuz come into play."
Richard Burgon, Labor's shadow justice secretary, said it was important to prevent the UK from being dragged into a larger US-led conflict and to prevent that does not repeat the "great tragedy of Iraq".
Burgon said: "What we want to avoid is that the mistakes of the past are repeated. The mistakes of the past cost a lot, a lot of lives. Past mistakes have aggravated the situation and fueled terrorism and hatred. And that's what we do not want. We do not want to be in a situation where things get out of control. "
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