TEHRAN - Mohammad Dehghan, Iran's deputy president for legal affairs, has said the country's seizure of an Israeli vessel was a response to "Zionist and American acts."

Dehghan made the comments on Wednesday to reporters.

Dehghan also addressed the possibility of legal action over a reported Israeli attack on the Iranian embassy in Damascus on April 1st. He stated that lawyers are currently investigating the incident, but no decision on legal action has been made yet.

The vice president added that Iran is closely monitoring developments, particularly in Gaza, and is seeking involvement with international authorities on relevant issues.

Dehgan did not provide details on the seized vessel but reiterated that the action was retaliation against the U.S. and Israel. 

He concluded by stating that Iran's actions are often a response to "hostile behavior" by Israel.

The special naval forces of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) seized Israel-linked MSC Aries container ship near the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday.
 
The ship was impounded by the Sepah Navy Special Force (SNSF) in a heliborne operation and rappelling of forces on the ship's deck.

"The ship has now been directed towards the territorial waters of our country," IRNA said. 

The Portuguese-flagged ship, operated by Zodiac Maritime, was owned by Israeli real estate, energy, technology and shipping magnate Eyal Ofer, it added.

Zodiac Maritime is part of the Israeli billionaire's Zodiac Group.

A video released by the IRGC shows SNSF commandos rappelling down onto a stack of containers sitting on the deck of the vessel.

A crew member on the ship could be heard saying: “Don't come out." He then tells his colleagues to go to the ship's bridge as more commandos come down on the deck.

Reports said the MSC Aries had been last located off Dubai heading toward the Strait of Hormuz on Friday. The ship had reportedly turned off its tracking data, which has been common for Israeli-affiliated ships moving through the region.

The incident comes amid Israel bracing for Iranian retaliation after the regime's April 1 strike on a building in the Iranian embassy compound in the Syrian capital of Damascus, which killed seven IRGC military advisors, including two generals.