 "Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Reuters File")
Poland on Thursday urged its citizens to leave Iran immediately, citing a rapid US military buildup in West Asia that has raised the prospect of direct confrontation with Tehran.
“Please leave Iran immediately and under no circumstances travel to this country,” Politico quoted Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk as saying in the town of Zielonka near Warsaw.
“I do not want to alarm anyone, but we all know what I am referring to. The possibility of a conflict is very real,” he added.
Tusk warned that the window for evacuation could close quickly.
“In a few, a dozen, or several dozen hours, evacuation may no longer be possible,” he said, urging citizens to take the warning seriously.
The alert comes as the Trump administration signals it is preparing for potential escalation.
In recent weeks, Washington has deployed two aircraft carrier strike groups — the USS Abraham Lincoln and the USS Gerald R. Ford — along with advanced fighter jets and support assets to West Asia.
These forces could be used in potential strikes on Iran, even as US-Iran nuclear talks continue in Geneva.
The warning comes amid a surge of anti-regime protests. About 250,000 people rallied in Munich on February 14 following a call from exiled opposition figure Reza Pahlavi, with parallel demonstrations reported in cities including Toronto and Los Angeles.
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View AllPoland’s advisory follows similar alerts from Italy, Germany, and Spain in mid-January, urging citizens to leave Iran or avoid travel.
Cyprus also raised its travel advisory to the highest “leave now” level. Across Europe, governments are increasingly shifting from “avoid travel” to “get out,” even as US forces continue to surge toward the Gulf.
With inputs from agencies