The 2025–26 Persian Gulf Pro League, Iran's top football division, is running its 25th season overall and its 23rd under the current name. Sixteen clubs contest the title across a full double-round-robin schedule, and the football tournaments that matter most to Iranian fans, from the domestic championship chase to the AFC Champions League Elite qualifying spots, are all being decided right here. Esteghlal Tehran sit at the summit with 41 points from 22 matches: 11 wins, 8 draws, 3 losses, 29 goals scored, 16 conceded, and a goal difference of +13. Those numbers, confirmed across Wikipedia, Soccer365, 365Scores, and Oddsfan, make them the clear frontrunners at the time of the latest available data.
Two points separate Esteghlal from the chasing pack. Tractor Tabriz are second on 39 points from the same 22 games, with a record of 10 wins, 9 draws, and 3 defeats. Their goal difference of +18 (30 scored, 12 conceded) is actually the best in the league, which is a quietly remarkable statistic. Sepahan are third, also on 39 points from 22 matches, but their 11 wins are the same as Esteghlal's. Sepahan have scored 24 and conceded 13 for a +11 goal difference. The gap between second and third is decided by something other than points right now, and the standings are tight enough that a single result could scramble the picture.
The Middle of the Table and the Asian Playoff Spots
Positions four through six carry serious consequences. The top two clubs in the final standings qualify directly for the league phase of the 2026–27 AFC Champions League Elite. Positions four, five, and six earn entry into the Asian play-offs, which means the battle between Gol Gohar, Chadormalu, and Persepolis is genuinely competitive.
Gol Gohar sit fourth with 36 points from 23 matches. Their record is 10 wins, 6 draws, 7 defeats, and they have scored and conceded exactly 24 goals each, leaving them with a goal difference of zero. That kind of balanced ledger tells you something about how they play. Chadormalu are fifth on 35 points from 22 games, with 9 wins, 8 draws, and 5 losses, scoring 27 and conceding 19 for a +8 difference. Persepolis, one of Iranian football's most storied clubs, are sixth on 34 points from 22 matches: 9 wins, 7 draws, 6 defeats, 23 goals scored, 19 conceded, +4 goal difference. Persepolis fans will know their side needs to close the gap on Gol Gohar, and one game's worth of points separates all three clubs.
Foolad Khuzestan hold seventh place on 31 points from 22 matches, with 7 wins, 10 draws, and 5 losses, and a +5 goal difference (21 scored, 16 conceded). Eighth place belongs to Fajr Sepasi, who have played one more game than most rivals and collected 30 points from 23 outings. Their record of 8 wins, 6 draws, and 9 losses gives them a goal difference of −2 (25 scored, 27 conceded).
The Congested Lower-Mid Table
From ninth down to fourteenth, the points are bunched in a way that keeps almost everyone nervous. Kheybar Khorramabad are ninth on 29 points from 23 matches, with 7 wins, 8 draws, and 8 defeats, scoring 22 and conceding 24 for a −2 goal difference. Malavan are tenth, also on 29 points but from only 22 games: 7 wins, 8 draws, 7 losses, 13 goals scored, 21 conceded, and a −8 goal difference that is worrying if the season runs long.
Esteghlal Khuzestan are eleventh on 25 points from 22 matches, having won 6, drawn 7, and lost 9, with 17 goals scored and 23 conceded (goal difference: −6). Paykan are twelfth on 24 points from 23 games, a record of 5 wins, 9 draws, and 9 losses, with 15 goals scored and 21 conceded and a −6 goal difference. Shams Azar Qazvin are thirteenth on 22 points from 23 matches. Their 3 wins and 13 draws against 7 losses is a strange shape for a season, and they are one of only a handful of clubs in the persian league this year who seem to specialise in the stalemate. Aluminium Arak are fourteenth on 22 points from 22 matches, with 5 wins, 7 draws, and 10 losses, scoring 14 and conceding 21 for a −7 difference.
Relegation Zone: Zob Ahan and Mes Rafsanjan
The bottom of the iran pro league table is where the most painful stories are unfolding. Zob Ahan, a club with genuine historical weight in Persian sport, sit fifteenth with just 19 points from 21 matches. Their record stands at 3 wins, 10 draws, and 8 losses, with 12 goals scored and 19 conceded (goal difference: −7). Both Spanish and English Wikipedia sources flag them for relegation to the Azadegan League, the second division.
Mes Rafsanjan are bottom, sixteenth, on 15 points from 22 matches. Three wins, 6 draws, and 13 defeats tell the story clearly enough. They have scored only 13 goals and conceded 29, leaving them with a −16 goal difference. That is the worst defensive record in the division by a significant margin, and the iran pro league table offers them no comfort. Relegation to the Azadegan League appears to be their destination.
What the Season Means Beyond the Table
The qualification structure gives this season extra weight. Esteghlal and Tractor, barring a dramatic collapse, are tracking toward direct entry into the AFC Champions League Elite league stage. The three clubs from fourth to sixth are scrapping for play-off berths that could define their entire year. Shabake 3 and Shabake Varzesh, Iran's main broadcast outlets for domestic football, will carry every decisive fixture as the season concludes. The exact number of remaining rounds is not confirmed in available data, and standings beyond early June 2026 cannot be fully verified, so the final picture remains open.
