WASHINGTON/BEIJING – A US federal judge has issued an order, after finding that China’s ZTE violated probation imposed in March 2017, when the company pleaded guilty to illegally shipping goods to Iran despite US sanctions.

In his order, US District Judge Ed Kinkeade in Dallas extended until 2022 the term of a monitor he appointed to assess compliance with US export control laws.

The Commerce Department said ZTE had made false statements about disciplining 35 employees involved in the illegal shipping of US origin goods to Iran.