TEHRAN - All 23 crew members of the seized British oil tanker "Stena Impero" are "safe and in good health", the head of the Ports and Maritime Organisation of Iran told Iranian state TV on Sunday.

Despite being escorted by a British warship, the oil tanker was stopped on Friday by Iran and was led to the coastal harbor for a legal investigation and other necessary measures, according to the official IRNA news agency.

Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) seized the British oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz for what it called "failing to respect the international maritime rules while passing through the strait".

The spokesman for the IRGC has condemned the British oil tanker's action on Saturday, saying there was a risk of collision because of the tanker's wrong direction, adding that Iran is acting legally and within the bounds of its national sovereignty in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.