The home side dominated the contest and looked to be heading for a first Group One win through a 19th-minute strike from captain Abdulraheem Jumaa.

But after failing to add a second, partly down to a man-of-the-match display from visiting goalkeeper Seyed Rahmati, Iran captain Karim Bagheri headed home with 10 minutes remaining to keep his side in the hunt for a trip to South Africa in 2010, but leave UAE with just one point from four games in the five-team group.

"We still have a chance mathematically," said Bathenay. "But we don't really have much hope now.

"This match was our last chance and we gave it our best, but unfortunately it was not good enough.

"We created a number of chances, but could not convert them and that proved costly."

South Korea top the table with seven points after beating Saudi Arabia 2-0, with Iran two points behind and one point clear of North Korea and Saudi Arabia with all four having played three games.

Iran coach Ali Daei saluted his side after surviving the UAE onslaught to remain undefeated in their bid to qualify for a second consecutive World Cup for the first time in their history.

"This is the best I have seen UAE play for a long time. Many other teams would have lost to the UAE tonight so I am proud of my team and the way they fought to get a point," said Daei.

"We started very badly and played a poor first half. It is the worst I have seen this team play. We gifted the ball to them.

"In the second half, we were a lot better and created plenty of chances. We put pressure on them and eventually got the equaliser."