A minute of silence was observed ahead of the match in memory of six-year-old fan Emad Safiyari who died of an electric shock at the Azadi Stadium last week.
In the 81st minute, substitute Mehdi Abdi hit the bar and the ball was deflected cruelly past Esteghlal goalkeeper Hossein Hosseini.
Ali Karimi, who was sent off in the late minutes of the match for receiving a second yellow card, missed a penalty in the first half.
Esteghlal leads the head to head results in competitive matches with 26 wins to Persepolis’s 24, while 41 matches ended in a draw.
Persepolis moved up to second place with nine points from four matches and Esteghlal remained 15th in the 16-team table.
Tehran derby is a football match between the two prominent Tehran clubs Esteghlal (Blues) and Persepolis (Reds).
