An early goal from Mohammad Noori gave the visitors a lead in the 5th minute. He scored from outside the penalty area with a powerful shot while Esteghlal keeper Vahid Taleblu remained motionless.
Esteghlal played with ten men when referee Alireza Faghani showed their captain Farhad Majidi his second yellow card a minute before the interval.
Arash Borhani equalized the match nine minutes into the second half. He chested down a long ball among Saba defenders and skillfully opened the goal.
Esteghlal remains on top of the Iran Professional League standings table with 24 points and Saba Battery moves up to sixth place with 20 points.