‘Iran transferring centrifuges to Fordo’

Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Fereydoun Abbasi says the Islamic Republic has started transferring the centrifuges of its Natanz nuclear facility to the Fordo atomic site.

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

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.

“The [issue of] transfer of 20 percent enrichment [activities] from Natanz site to Fordo has been communicated to the IAEA,” Salehi said on June 8.

The US and its allies accuse Iran of pursuing a military nuclear program, and used this pretext to pressure the UN Security Council to impose a fourth round of sanctions against Iran.

Iran, a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the IAEA, insists on its legal right to utilize nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.