Not sure why you think I misinterpreted your post, but thanks for the rehash.
N Korea's pursuit is a given...Kim wants to be held in the same regard as countries like India or Pakistan (Pakistan being a very real threat to the GWOT, IMO) as a "blessed possessor" of nukes. Never gonna happen.
Iran is clearly (to me) stepping up its efforts to let the whole world know that they will be a player. More than ever, they NEED nukes.....as a bargaining chip. It offers them rewards (incentive packages that they wouldn't be offered otherwise) and potentially buys them time before the US eventually comes knocking on their door.
Like you said, they are megalomaniacs who's pursuit of nukes undoubtedly predates current events. However, you can't deny that there is a sense of urgency in Iran's position. That's what happens when the country that names you in a triumvirate of evil proceeds to occupy the land and sea that surrounds you...peacefully or otherwise.
If you think about everything that's going on in that region, we actually invaded the least potentially destructive country in the Middle East.