# The Incredible Shrinking Superpower

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/the-incredible-shrinking-superpower/
- Published: 2026-10-28T17:04:39+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-03T23:46:35+00:00
- Original publisher: The Intercept (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://theintercept.com/2026/10/28/yemen-saudi-arabia-iran/
- Topics: Americas, Middle East, Politics, World

## Key points

- The article says US influence in the Middle East is waning.
- Ansarullah attacks have reached Saudi airports and energy infrastructure.
- Pakistan, Türkiye and Egypt have pledged to defend Saudi Arabia.

## Summary

The article argues that the United States has suffered a major loss of influence in the Middle East after failing to achieve its aims in conflicts with Yemen’s Ansarullah and Iran. It says recent attacks on Saudi infrastructure show how regional forces can challenge both US power and its allies, while Washington’s military presence in the region has shrunk.

The article traces the renewed Saudi-Ansarullah conflict to a Saudi strike on Sanaa airport in July 2026, after a delegation returned from Iran. Ansarullah retaliated, and in October briefly closed a Saudi airport; Pakistan, Türkiye and Egypt have since pledged to defend Saudi Arabia, though they appear reluctant to operate inside Yemen. The supplied text ends mid-sentence, so it does not provide the article’s full account of the conflict.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.