Poland’s opposition Conservatives (PiS)-allied President Karol Nawrocki has said he was informed in advance of the US and Israeli attack against Iran.
But the centre-left government led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk has condemned the escalation of the crisis to other countries in the Middle East.
Nawrocki, who is pro-US President Donald Trump, said he was aware of the attacks by the US and Israel on Iran thanks to communication channels with allies.
“Thanks to the channels we maintain with our allies and coalition partners, we were aware of the military action taken by Israel and the US,” Nawrocki wrote on X.
One of his aides, Wojciech Kolarskito, told Polish Radio that, while the conflict does not directly affect Poland, it is in its interest to see it de-escalated.
“Anything that happens in the Middle East matters for global security, and in that sense, we must carefully watch developments there,” Wojciech Kolarski said.
He added that the shifting of the global focus away from events in Ukraine was not good news from the Polish perspective.
The Tusk government has been concentrating on calls for de-escalation of the conflict and assuring the public it is monitoring the situation and taking care of the safety of Polish citizens.
It condemned the escalation of the conflict to other states in the Middle East yesterday and urged maximum restraint and respect for international law.
“We call on all parties to exercise maximum restraint, respect international law, and protect civilians,” stated the Polish foreign ministry.
“We unwaveringly support a peaceful settlement of conflicts in the Middle East and of the dispute over the Iranian nuclear programme,” it said.
The ministry added that Iranian society, which had been “painfully affected” by recent political repression following a wave of protests, “deserves freedom, peace, stability and prosperity”.
It also expressed “solidarity with Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Oman”, which it said “have suffered as a result of the escalation of hostilities”.
“We strongly condemn all attempts to spread the conflict across the Middle East,” concluded the ministry.
Polish military contingents are stationed in the Middle East in Lebanon and Iraq. The Lebanon deployment consists of troops serving under the UNIFIL mission where up to 250 soldiers are currently deployed.
In Iraq, up to 350 Polish troops are stationed as part of the Global Coalition against the Islamic State, focusing primarily on training Iraqi security forces.
Meanwhile, Anna Maria Żukowska, the head of the parliamentary caucus of the Left Party, which is part of the Tusk government, warned that escalation in the Middle East could spark a serious regional conflict and criticised the US for its actions.
“It likely signals a revival of Washington’s imperial ambitions,” she said.
“It shows that the United States aims to recreate a global order in which it is, alongside perhaps one other power, determining what happens in other countries,” she added.
Witold Tumanowicz, an MP for the right-wing Confederation Party, though, said he believes a follow-up ground operation in Iran is unlikely and that therefore the crisis should be containable.
“A strike was expected, but whether Donald Trump would authorise a ground intervention is another matter,” he told Polish Radio.
“In my view, probably not. The airstrikes may have already achieved the objectives Trump had in mind,” he added.
“We’ll see if the ayatollahs remain in power, but their teeth and claws in regional politics have likely been dulled,” Tumanowicz said.
