We proposed a novel efficient seed-based method for the multiple region segmentation of images based on graphs, named Hierarchical Layered Oriented Image Foresting Transform (HLOIFT). It uses a tree of the relations between the image objects, represented by a node. Each tree node may contain different individual high-level priors and defines a weighted digraph, named as layer. The layer graphs are then integrated into a hierarchical graph, considering the hierarchical relations of inclusion and exclusion. A single energy optimization is performed in the hierarchical layered weighted digraph leading to globally optimal results satisfying all the high-level priors. The experimental evaluations of HLOIFT and its extensions, on medical, natural and synthetic images, indicate promising results comparable to the state-of-the-art methods, but with lower computational complexity. Compared to hierarchical segmentation by the min-cut/max-flow algorithm, our approach is less restrictive, leading to globally optimal results in more general scenarios, and has a better running time.