Poland, a key NATO member and ally of the United States, has issued an urgent advisory for its citizens to leave Iran immediately, citing a “very real” threat of conflict. This stark warning was delivered by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Thursday.
The alert comes amidst heightened tensions in the Middle East, as the United States increases its military presence in the region due to concerns over Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
“I urge all Polish citizens to depart Iran without delay and strongly advise against any travel to the region,” Tusk stated during remarks in Zielonka, a town near Warsaw, as reported by Turkey’s Anadolu Agency. “I do not wish to cause panic, but the potential for conflict cannot be ignored.”
Tusk further warned, “In a matter of hours or days, evacuation might become impossible.”
Prime Minister Tusk delivered these comments while accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, during a demonstration of unmanned weapon systems by the Polish Armaments Group at a military training site in Zielonka.
Meanwhile, the USS Gerald R. Ford, the largest aircraft carrier in the world, and its accompanying strike group are en route from the Caribbean to the Middle East, underscoring the escalating military tensions in the region.
The move would place two aircraft carriers and their accompanying warships in the region.
The world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, in the North Sea during the NATO Neptune Strike 2025 exercise in September 2025. (Jonathan Klein/AFP via Getty Images)
The USS Abraham Lincoln and three guided-missile destroyers arrived in the Middle East more than two weeks ago.
On Wednesday, U.S. Central Command posted photos showing F/A-18 Super Hornets landing on the decks of the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea.
F/A-18 Super Hornets from Strike Fighter Squadron 14 land on the deck of USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea in this image released Wednesday, Feb. 18, by U.S. Central Command. (U.S. Central Command)
“When launched from a catapult on an aircraft carrier, the Super Hornet can go from a full stop to airborne in under three seconds,” CENTCOM said.
