Crossword Genius

Vlad crosswords reportedly finish off country (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

iran

'country' is the definition.
(Iran is an example)

'vlad crosswords reportedly finish off' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'vlad' could be 'i' (where the crossword setter is 'Vlad') and 'i' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'ran' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

(Other definitions for iran that I've seen before include "Country where ayatollahs replaced a shah" , "Farsi-speaking country" , "Country lying to south of Caspian sea" , "Country to east of Iraq" , "Country that was Persia" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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