Report: Nuclear Iran Likely To Increase Instability

Iran's President Mahmud Ahmadinejad delivers a speech to the national Atomic Energy Organization scientists during a ceremony to mark National Nuclear Day in Tehran in April.

WASHINGTON -- A new report claims that a nuclear Iran would alter the political landscape of the Middle East and increase the likelihood of instability, terrorism, and conflict.

The report, titled "Analysis of Energy and Economic Effects of a Nuclear Iran," issued on October 10 by the Bipartisan Policy Center, says that the expectation of instability and supply disruption triggered by a nuclear Iran could significantly drive up fuel prices.

The report analyzes five scenarios that project a variety of political, diplomatic, and military consequences of a nuclear Iran including a possible nuclear exchange between Iran and Israel.

The center's policy director, Michael Makovsky, said the study laid out "plausible scenarios" that could have lasting implications for the U.S. and global economies.