Crossword Genius

Borders closed off in country of sultanate (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

omani

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

'borders closed off' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.

'country of sultanate' is the wordplay.
'country' becomes 'Oman' (Oman is an example).
'of sultanate' becomes 'i' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'oman'+'i'='OMANI'

'in' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for omani that I've seen before include "One from Muscat" , "Inhabitant of Middle Eastern sultanate" , "Asian" , "Native of one Arabian sultanate" , "coming from the Middle East" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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