Crossword Genius

Middle Easterner - Gershwin, say - rasied IQ (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

iraqi

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'middle easterner' is the definition.
(someone from Iraq)

'gershwin say rasied iq' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'gershwin' could be 'ira' (lyricist Ira Gershwin, brother of George) and 'ira' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'qi' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for iraqi that I've seen before include "Inhabitant of Baghdad?" , "Person from Baghdad?" , "Foreign citizen" , "native of troubled land" , "Native of Basra, perhaps" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish News.
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