Iran announced that it has transferred a number of its centrifuge machines from the Central city of Natanz to the Fordo plant near the city of Qom.

Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Fereidoun Abbasi said the Islamic Republic has started transferring the centrifuges of its Natanz nuclear facility to the Fordo atomic site, semi-official Fars News Agency reported.

"Transferring the centrifuges of the Natanz site to Fordo is underway with full observance of standards," Abbasi said on Sunday, August 21.

The Iranian official noted that the facilities of the Fordo nuclear enrichment plant are being prepared and a number of centrifuge machines have been transferred to the site.

The Fordo nuclear facility, the country's second site for enriching uranium, is located in Iran's central Qom province.

In June, Abbasi said that Iran will transfer its 20-percent uranium enrichment activities to Fordo. He went on to say that the first chain of a new generation of centrifuges "will soon be installed at the Fordo."

Abbasi, however, pointed out that Iran will not stop 20-percent enrichment at Natanz until it makes sure the Fordo production is up to speed.

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi also said that the Islamic Republic has informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of the upcoming transfer of its nuclear enrichment activities to Fordo.