on 31 december 2011, samuel joined iran pro league side, esteghlal, where he was welcomed with the local custom of sacrificing a sheep. he was re-united with his former bolton teammate andranik teymourian. samuel played in midfield in iran, and told aston villa's official website that he was enjoying being able to move forward and score goals. his team won the hazfi cup in his first season and the iran pro league a year later. esteghlal reached the semi-finals of the 2013 afc champions league, in which he scored a goal in the second leg of the semi-finals at home to fc seoul in a 2–2 draw (4–2 aggregate loss).