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Poland, a NATO member and close ally of the United States, issued an urgent advisory on Thursday, urging its citizens to leave Iran immediately. The Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, highlighted the “very real” threat of conflict as the basis for this warning.
This announcement comes amidst growing tensions in the Middle East, with the United States ramping up its military presence in response to Iran’s contentious nuclear program.
Speaking in Zielonka, a town near Warsaw, Tusk stated, “Please leave Iran immediately and under no circumstances travel to this country,” as reported by Turkey’s Anadolu Agency. He added, “I do not want to alarm anyone, but we all know what I am referring to. The possibility of a conflict is very real.”
Tusk further cautioned that the window for evacuation might close soon, saying, “In a few, a dozen, or several dozen hours, evacuation may no longer be possible.”
During his visit to the Military Institute of Armament Technology in Zielonka, Prime Minister Tusk, accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, observed a demonstration of unmanned weapon systems conducted by the Polish Armaments Group. The event took place on Thursday, February 19, 2026, as documented by Aleksander Kalka through NurPhoto via Getty Images.
The world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, and its strike group are moving from the Caribbean toward the Middle East.
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.