Ajmer, March 2 -- Ajmer Sharif Dargah Chief Syed Zainul Abedin on Monday criticised the escalating Middle East crisis, asserting that the confrontation between Iran, Israel and US "cannot be called a war" and should instead be seen as an act of dictatorship.

Speaking to ANI, Abedin accused the United States of attempting to "take world leaders hostage for its own interests," and described the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, recently killed in a joint US-Israel military operation, as not only Iran's Supreme Leader but also a guiding figure for Shia Muslims globally.

"What is happening between Iran and Israel cannot be called a war. It can be called a dictatorship. America is trying to take world leaders hostage for its own interests...Ayato...