Seizure of British ship a reciprocal move: Iran!

Britain denounced the seizure as a "hostile act".

Iran's seizure of a British oil tanker was a response to Britain's role in impounding an Iranian supertanker first, senior officials said on Saturday, as newly released video of the incident showed Iranian commandos in black ski masks and fatigues rappelling from a helicopter onto the vessel in the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

The seizure prompted condemnation from the UK and its European allies as they continue to call for a de-escalation of tensions in the critical waterway. Britain denounced the seizure as a "hostile act", rejecting Tehran's explanation that it had seized the vessel because it had been involved in an accident. UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said Britain's response "will be considered but robust".

Iran's Guardian Council spokesperson Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei was quoted in the semi-official Fars news agency describing the seizure as a legal "reciprocal action".

The British-flagged Stena Impero was intercepted late on Friday by Iran's Revolutionary Guard forces. The ship's owner, Stena Bulk, said the vessel was stopped by "unidentified small crafts and a helicopter" during its transit through the Strait of Hormuz. The vessel was seized with a crew of 23 crew aboard, although none are British nationals.

A video released by the Revolutionary Guard shows several small Guard boats surrounding the larger tanker. Several men dressed in military fatigues and black masks rappel onto the ship from a hovering helicopter.