A powerful council in Iran admitted on Saturday that it had seized a British oil tanker and its 23 international crew members on Friday out of retaliation for the seizure of an Iranian ship in Gibraltar two weeks earlier. The Associated Press quoted Iran’s Guardian Council spokesman Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei, saying “the rule of reciprocal action is well-known in international law.” He also said that Iran's intent in taking the ship, owned by Stena Bulk shipping, was to “confront the illegitimate economic war” against Iran. Tensions have been at a boiling point in the region as the Trump administration withdrew from Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal and imposed sweeping economic sanctions on the country which have greatly affected oil exports. The U.K. had originally said two ships were seized on Friday, but the second ship was a Liberian-flagged vessel that was briefly detained and released by Iranian officials.