Polish citizens in Iran should leave the country immediately, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on 19 February, warning that the risk of armed conflict may make evacuation later impossible.
“Please leave Iran immediately and under no circumstances go to this country,” Polish media quoted the prime minister as saying.
“I don’t want to scare anyone here with possible developments, but we all know what I am talking about. The possibility of a violent conflict is quite real. In a few, a dozen or even a few dozen hours, the possibility of evacuation will be ruled out,” Tusk added.
Earlier, the US media, citing officials in the White House and the Pentagon, reported that the United States had concentrated enough forces in the Middle East region to launch air strikes against Iran over the coming weekend.
According to CNN, the Pentagon informed the White House that the U.S. military would be ready to conduct a military operation over the weekend if ordered to do so by the U.S. president.
However, as The New York Times writes, President Donald Trump has not yet given any reason to think that he has made a decision on further action.
On the one hand, the US is engaged in indirect talks with Iran, demanding that Tehran abandon uranium enrichment, and White House spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt said on 18 February that the administration expected Iran to make its positions clearer within two weeks.
On the other hand, she declined to answer a question about whether Trump intends to hold off on a possible military action pending Iranian proposals.
Donald Trump himself has repeatedly threatened Tehran with “severe consequences” if it refuses to agree to US demands.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had earlier rejected the US threats. Addressing a crowd of supporters in Tehran, Khamenei said on 17 February that Iran has the capability to sink US warships. Addressing Trump directly, Khamenei said the US president “will not be able” to topple the Islamic Republic.
According to US media reports, an aircraft carrier group led by the Gerald Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, is on its way to the Mediterranean Sea, where the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln is already stationed.
US military aircraft based in Britain, including refuelling planes, have been redeployed closer to Iran. Over the past month, additional missile defence systems have been deployed in the region.
According to US experts, possible targets of strikes could be Iranian shorter and medium-range missiles, nuclear facilities and facilities associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
At the same time, according to The New York Times, national security advisers have warned the US president that if the goal of the operation is regime change in Iran, its success is not guaranteed.
The newspaper’s sources in Israel say that the Israeli army is preparing for possible air strikes against Iran, the aim of which would be to force Tehran to make concessions in negotiations and its nuclear programme.