Russia and Iran have a troubled history despite their current alliance Boston 25 News [Video]

MOSCOW — (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted his Iranian counterpart Friday for the signing of a broad pact between Moscow and Tehran.

The Kremlin says the “comprehensive strategic partnership” agreement between Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will take their cooperation to a new level.

What to know about the relationship between Russia and Iran:

Historic rivals become allies

Russia and Iran fought wars in the 18th and 19th centuries, with the Russian Empire capturing broad territories in the Caucasus and the Caspian region previously controlled by Persian rulers. In the early 20th century, Russian troops occupied large parts of northern Iran, but the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution ended their presence. In World War II, the Soviet Union and Britain invaded Iran, which still evokes painful memories in Tehran.

Tensions ran high in the Cold War, when Tehran was a U.S. ally under the Shah of Iran. After his ouster in the 1979 Islamic Revolution, leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini …