Commandos from Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard rappelled down onto a container ship near the Strait of Hormuz and seized the vessel "related to the Zionist regime", Iran's state media said on Saturday.

Iran's state-run IRNA news agency acknowledged the seizure after a video seen by the Associated Press news agency showed the commandos raiding the ship Saturday, an attack a Mideast defence official attributed to Iran amid wider tensions between Tehran and the West.

"A container ship named 'MCS Aries' was seized by the Sepah (Guards) Navy Special Forces by carrying out a heliborne operation," IRNA state news agency reported.

It added that the operation took place "near the Strait of Hormuz", a waterway vital to world trade, and "this ship has now been directed towards the territorial waters" of Iran.

According to Israel's Channel 14 and Times of Israel, the vessel seized in the Strait of Hormuz was MSC Aries, which carries the Portuguese flag and belongs to Zodiac Maritime shipping company owned by Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer.

An Israeli army spokesperson said Iran will bear "consequences" for the escalation.

The attack was earlier reported by the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, which said it took place in the Gulf of Oman off the Emirati port city of Fujairah.

The video shared with AP showed 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. One commando can be seen kneeling above the others to provide them with potential cover fire.

Zodiac declined to comment and referred questions to MSC, which did not immediately respond.

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

The incident comes amid heightened tensions between Iran and the West, particularly after a suspected Israeli strike on the Iranian Consulate in Syria. Meanwhile, the wider Middle East remains on edge after six months of Israel's brutal war on Gaza.

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels have carried out dozens of missile and drone attacks against shipping in the Red Sea area, and in November seized an Israel-linked cargo vessel, the Galaxy Leader. The crew are still being held.

The Gulf of Oman is near the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all globally traded oil passes.

Fujairah, on the United Arab Emirates’ eastern coast, is the main port in the region for ships to take on new oil cargo, pick up supplies or trade out crew.

Since 2019, the waters off Fujairah have seen a series of explosions and hijackings. The US Navy blamed Iran for limpet mine attacks on vessels that damaged tankers.