Europe is considering plans to send a naval mission to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
EU ministers are in talks to expand the existing Aspides mission, which was first launched to counter Houthi attacks off the coast of Yemen, to protect shipping in the Persian Gulf.
The Aspides deployment is made up of three ships from the French, Greek and Italian navies.
An EU-UN joint naval mission to ensure safe passage “seems more likely” than EU countries approaching Iran bilaterally, an official told the Financial Times.
It follows demands from Donald Trump on Saturday for the UK, China, France, Japan and South Korea “and others” to send ships to the Strait of Hormuz to force open the crucial shipping lane.
On Sunday Abbas Araghchi, the Iranian foreign minister, warned countries against getting involved in its war with the US and Israel.
He told Jean-Noel Barrot, his French counterpart, to “refrain from any action that could lead to escalation and expansion of the conflict”.
The UK defence ministry said that it was continuing to discuss “a range of options” with its allies and partners.
Global energy prices have soared since Iran began attacking ships passing though the Strait of Hormuz. The 24-mile wide waterway normally sees the passage of 20 per cent of global oil supplies.