WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Attacks by Israel against the targets of three allies of Iran - Lebanon, Syria and Iraq - are raising tensions in the Middle East and threatening a wider conflict in the region, The Washington Post said.

The Israeli escalation through attacks on Iranian and allied forces on Saturday and Sunday in Lebanon, Iraq and Syria is part of Tel Aviv's attempt to reduce Iranian influence, which threatens the US military presence in the region and threatens a new war in Lebanon.

Khalil Khashan, a political science professor at the American University of Beirut, said the attacks marked the beginning of a new phase of Israeli escalation aimed at reducing Iran's presence in the region.

"By doing so, Israel is telling the world that it is expanding its attacks against Iran and its allies," Khashan said, adding that "these attacks set the stage for a new phase of conflict between Tel Aviv on the one hand and Tehran and its allied forces on the other."

According to Khashan, Israel's aim in these attacks is "to reaffirm its determination to prevent the expansion of Iranian influence in the Middle East."

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The newspaper described the Israeli attacks as "mysterious", saying that Israel admitted that its warplanes bombed on Saturday evening what it described as an Iranian-run military base in Syria, which was preparing to launch a drone attack on Israeli targets, while not admitting two more attacks.

It pointed out that Tel Aviv's accusation of Tehran to plan to launch drone attacks on targets inside Israel set a precedent in itself, and that such an attack would spark a war between the parties if it happened.

The Washington Post has highlighted responses so far to Israeli attacks, including a speech by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in which he vowed to retaliate, threatening to shoot down any Israeli aircraft that violates Lebanese airspace, warning that the Israeli escalation could be The beginning of a wider conflict between Tehran and its militias on the one hand, and Tel Aviv on the other.