Extreme resistance, Middle Eastern ruler barely suppresses (5)
I believe the answer is:
ultra
'extreme' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
I can't explain the remainder of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for ultra that I've seen before include "Over the top" , "Extreme (as in UV)" , "Prefix meaning beyond or excessively" , "Above, beyond, super" , "Political extremist" .)