Iranian media released images and video from the seized British-flagged oil tanker. Steno Impero, carrying 23 sailors from India, Latvia, Russia and the Philippines.

The Swedish-owned tanker crew consisted of 18 Indians, including the captain, the seizure of which has intensified tensions in the strategic waterway of the Gulf region. The video footage and a photo appear to show cooks preparing meals and crew members being briefed by an Iranian official onboard the vessel.

While in images published by Fars and Irib news agencies, some of the 23 crew members are seen holding meetings and monitoring their computer systems. During one “meeting” a uniformed crew member tells others: “Don’t look at the camera”.

UK Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, told MPs the seizure of the oil tanker was an act of “state piracy”. He added that if Iran continued to act as it had, it would have to accept a “larger Western military presence” along its coastline, according to reports in BBC.

Source » khaleejtimes