The U.S. State Department has reportedly called on Iran to immediately release a South Korea-flagged tanker that it detained.

According to Reuters, the department made the call in a statement on Monday, criticizing the Iranian regime for threatening navigational rights and freedom in the Persian Gulf.

A spokesperson of the department said in the statement that the Iranian moves are part of a clear attempt to extort the international community into relieving the pressure of sanctions. 

The spokesperson then said the U.S. joins South Korea's call for Iran to immediately release the oil tanker. 

The statement came hours after the tanker, MT Hankuk Chemi, was seized by Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps in the Strait of Hormuz for alleged violations of environmental laws on Monday.