RIYADH (AFP) - 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. Meanwhile, a prominent Shia cleric appeared in a Saudi court on Tuesday facing accusations he instigated unrest and sought foreign meddling in the kingdom, a witness said.