NATO country orders citizens to immediately evacuate Iran, warning ‘possibility of a conflict is very real’

NATO country and U.S.ally Poland warned its citizens Thursday to immediatelyflee Iran, with its prime minister saying the “possibility of a conflict is very real.” 

The remarks from Donald Tusk come as the U.S.has been bolstering its military presence in the Middle East with tensions escalating overIran’s nuclear program. 

“Please leave Iran immediately and under no circumstances travel to this country,” Tusk said Thursday in the town of Zielonka outside of Warsaw, according toTurkey’s Anadolu Agency.“I do not want to alarm anyone, but we all know what I am referring to.The possibility of a conflict is very real.” 

“In a few, a dozen, or several dozen hours, evacuation may no longer be possible,” Tusk reportedly added.

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Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, center, followed by Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, watches an open test of unmanned weapon systems conducted by the Polish Armaments Group at the Military Institute of Armament Technology training ground in Zielonka, near Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, Feb.19, 2026. (Aleksander Kalka/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

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The world’s largest aircraft carrier, theUSS 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.

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WORLD’S LARGEST AIRCRAFT CARRIER HEADS TO MIDDLE EAST AS IRAN NUCLEAR TENSIONS SPIKE DRAMATICALLY

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)

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TheUSS Abraham Lincolnand 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)

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“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. 

�s Greg Wehner contributed to this report.