Pakistan, July 20 -- The deaths of two American service members in an Iranian missile-and-drone assault in Jordan on Friday have altered the grammar of a conflict Washington and Tehran still describe as limited. A third remains missing, while the US toll has risen to 16 dead and more than 420 wounded.

Washington answered with an eighth consecutive night of strikes. Central Command said Iranian military facilities were hit to "swiftly punish" the Revolutionary Guards responsible and protect navigation through Hormuz.

Many argued renewed hostilities were inevitable and violence would continue until a clear battlefield winner emerged. The first proposition has proved partly correct; the second may not. Both powers can inflict pain. Neither...