Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said today that Western diplomatic missions will “pay” for their warnings and the temporary closure of their consulates in Istanbul last week.

Around the same time, for their part, the Turkish police, having arrested 15 people on suspicion of jihadism, assured that there was no serious threat to foreigners in the country.

Last Thursday, Ankara summoned the ambassadors of nine countries to complain about the temporary closure of their consulates. The next day, Turkish officials said that these Western countries, including the US and Germany, had not shared the information they had to back up their claims of a security threat.

“The other day, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs called them all and gave them the necessary ultimatum, told them: ‘You will pay dearly if you continue like this,’” Erdogan said in a video of a meeting with youth that was shown today.

In addition to closing consulates, many Western countries have warned their citizens about the risk of attacks on diplomatic missions and non-Muslim places of worship in Turkey.

The recent burning of a Koran at a rally in Stockholm, the Turkish leadership’s feud with Sweden, and Erdogan’s increased anti-Westernism have created an atmosphere of tension that many fear could lead to attacks on Westerners in Turkey.

Erdogan said Western countries were trying to “buy time” and that the “necessary decisions” would be made at tomorrow’s cabinet meeting, without elaborating.

According to APE-MPE, Reuters