After the unprecedented Iranian drone and missile strikes on Israel, in apparent retaliation for the Apr. 1 bombing of Iran’s embassy complex in Syria, there are two key questions to consider: what the operation truly conveys, and what may unfold next.

The seeming driving factors behind the high-profile assassinations of Quds Force commanders in Syria in past months are manifold. But one motive stands out: to elicit an Iranian reaction. Whether the latter may drag the United States into war is unclear. As things stand, President Joe Biden is not...