An alleged spy cell dismantled last week in Saudi Arabia had "direct links" to Iran's intelligence services, the kingdom's interior ministry said on Tuesday. "Preliminary investigations and physical evidence that has been collected as well as the defendants' statements on this case have all revealed direct links between this cell and Iranian intelligence services," a ministry spokesman said in a statement carried by the official SPA news agency.
"These elements had regularly received sums of money in return for information and documents on important installations during the spy operation in the interest of these services," it said. But Iranian media reported on Sunday that the Shia-dominated Islamic republic has denied any link to the suspected spy cell. "Investigations are still ongoing with members of this cell and legal procedures will be taken against them," said the Saudi statement.