ZeroFox Physical Security Intelligence Daily Brief - February 25, 2025

ZeroFox Physical Security Intelligence Daily Brief - February 25, 2025

ZeroFox physical security experts collect, curate, and analyze information derived from open and proprietary sources for comprehensive context of the circumstances surrounding global events. Here is today’s daily roundup of major developments.

Brief Highlights

• U.S. Treasury Imposes Additional Sanctions on Iran’s Shadow Fleet
• Europol Steps Up Efforts to Trace Sanctioned Assets Three Years after Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine
• Suez Canal Sees Reported Uptick in Traffic as Ceasefire Holds

U.S. Treasury Imposes Additional Sanctions on Iran’s Shadow Fleet

The United States has imposed sanctions on over 30 persons and vessels in multiple jurisdictions for their role in brokering the sale and transportation of Iranian petroleum-related products. Among those sanctioned were oil brokers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Hong Kong, tanker operators and managers in India and People’s Republic of China (PRC), the head of Iran’s National Iranian Oil Company, and the Iranian Oil Terminals Company, whose operations—a part of Iran’s Shadow Fleet—help finance Iran’s destabilizing activities. The sanctioned vessels were responsible for shipping tens of millions of barrels of crude oil valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Europol Steps Up Efforts to Trace Sanctioned Assets Three Years after Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine

The European Union (EU) has stepped up its efforts to support financial investigations by EU member states targeting criminal assets owned by individuals and legal entities sanctioned in relation to the Russian invasion of Ukraine or Operation Oscar. The EU has established a dedicated Target Group on Sanctions within Europol’s European Financial and Economic Crime Centre, which will serve as the central hub for sanction-related investigations. This initiative will improve the tracking of illicit financial flows and asset seizures, ensuring a more coordinated response to sanctions evasion.

Suez Canal Sees Reported Uptick in Traffic as Ceasefire Holds

On February 24, 2025, traffic through Egypt’s Suez Canal reportedly saw a significant uptick as Houthi attacks remained paused during the Israel-Hamas ceasefire. Forty-seven commercial vessels were rerouted through the canal from the Cape of Good Hope in February. Egypt’s government has sought to promote a return to the canal amid the Houthis’ suspension of attacks, although the Yemeni group has threatened to resume strikes on vessels if the ongoing Israel-Hamas ceasefire collapses. Shipping companies are likely to slowly increase traffic through the Suez Canal during the ceasefire. Commercial traffic through the canal is unlikely to resume en masse until a more lasting solution to the conflict is found.