After a goalless first half, Iran opened the scoring 10 minutes after the interval through Milad Midavoodi, before Mehdi Rajabzadeh sealed the win four minutes before the end.

Victory saw Iran take top spot in the group ahead of neighbours Iraq on goal difference and earned them a last-four tie with the runners-up of Group A on Friday.

Iran controlled the majority of the play in the opening half but it was Palestine who had the better chances on Hassan Rodbarian's goal.

They almost opened the scoring in the 19th minute when striker Fahad Attal curled in an effort from the edge of the area that found only the side netting.

Palestine thought they had opened the scoring five minutes before half-time when Attal headed home a cross from Sulaiman Obaid but the effort was disallowed as Attal was in an offside position.

Iran, who included seven players from their Asian Cup squad, had a bright start to the second half and took the lead in the 55th minute when Midavoodi surged into the area before unleashing a powerful right-foot shot past Palestine goalkeeper Ramzi Saleh.

With nothing to lose, Palestine poured forward but were unable to find a way past Rodbarian.

Instead it was the swift counter attacks led by Mehdi Rajabzadeh and Hossein Badamaki that offered the greater threat and the duo combined well to extend Iran's lead in the 86th minute, as Rajabzadeh received a neat pass from Badamaki and got past three Palestinian defenders before beating Saleh with a well-hit drive into the top-left corner of the net.