Hassan Beytsaeid put the host side in front after seven minutes when he picked himself off the floor to convert from the penalty spot as Esteghlal Khouzestan sought to maintain its perfect start to the campaign.
But Ismaeil Mohammed found the back of the net in the 11th minute to level the scores and earn Djemal Belmadi’s team a draw that sees the Qatari side maintain the two-point gap between the teams at the top of Group B.
Debutant Esteghlal Khuzestan had already earned back-to-back 1-0 victories over Al Fateh of Saudi Arabia and the UAE’s Al Jazira.