Crossword Genius

Tower encountered round Iran, perhaps (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

minaret

'tower' is the definition.
(minaret is a kind of tower)

'encountered round iran perhaps' is the wordplay.
'encountered' becomes 'met' ('meet' can be a synonym of 'encounter').
'round' is an insertion indicator.
'perhaps' indicates an anagram.
'iran' with letters rearranged gives 'inar'.
'met' going around 'inar' is 'MINARET'.

(Other definitions for minaret that I've seen before include "Tower attached to mosque" , "Raiment worn on mosque tower" , "Mosque turret" , "Mosque spire" , "tower in the Middle East" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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