[ark_girl]

Or decrease it, depending on how you look at it.

[TheDon]

Only if you think the US would preemptively nuke Iran, or even attack Iran conventionally after they have acquired a nuke. The general idea, as with North Korea, is that possession of a nuke makes a conventional attack impossible.

Israel could make a better case for such an act under those circumstances, but they would be seen as war criminals by the world. I know, I know, most people already see them that way.

Iran would gain immense prestige in the Muslim world, especially among the jihadis, with possession of an Islamic nuke. The West's options in dealing with Iran would be narrowed considerably with the knowledge that Iran could lob a nuke at Israel, Europe, or wherever it wanted.