Zob Ahan had won last week’s meeting between the two teams thanks to a solitary goal by Mehdi Rajabzadeh, but Djamal Belmadi’s side held fast at the Foolad Shahr Stadium to claim its first point of this year’s continental campaign.
The home side was on the front foot from the first whistle and, with less than two minutes on the clock, Lekhwiya goalkeeper Ivan Rodrigues was forced to dive at full stretch to push Kaveh Rezaei’s shot to safety after the Iranians hit quickly on the break.
Zob Ahan created so many chances but its strikers wasted their chances.
Elsewhere, Saudi Arabia champion Al Nassr edged Uzbekistan’s Bunyodkor 1-0 in its second Group B fixture in Tashkent.