Crossword Genius

Middle Eastern king's about to be welcomed by pair from Rome (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

israeli

'middle eastern' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'king's about to be welcomed by pair from rome' is the wordplay.
'king's' becomes 'lear's' (King Lear).
'about' is a reversal indicator.
'to be welcomed by' means one lot of letters goes inside another (letters welcomed inside).
'pair from rome' becomes 'II' (two in Roman numerals).
'lears' back-to-front is 'srael'.
'srael' inserted within 'ii' is 'ISRAELI'.

(Other definitions for israeli that I've seen before include "Benjamin Netanyahu, for instance" , "Someone from Tel Aviv?" , "Jew, possibly" , "Inhabitant of a Mediterranean republic" , "Levantine" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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