A New York Times investigation published Saturday alleges that China is among a handful of countries blatantly defying U.S. sanctions against Iran to continue to buy Iranian oil. The Times looked at maritime records from MarineTraffic and Refinitiv to track more than 70 Iranian tankers since the sanctions took place in early May. Among those movement, 12 tankers delivered oil to China and Eastern Mediterranean ports likely headed to Syria or Turkey. In May, the State Department warned that any purchase of Iranian oil would be subject to sanctions. “Our firm policy is to completely zero out purchases of Iranian oil,” they said in a statement. However, Noam Raydan with ClipperData, which tracks shipments, told the Times, “U.S. sanctions have not stopped Iran from moving oil to the Mediterranean and Asia.”