Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Iran later this month, the Kremlin said Friday, as the two countries back Bashar al-Assad in Syria and Moscow looks to step up business ties after the deal over Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

Putin -- who last visited Iran in 2007 -- will head to Tehran for a forum of gas-exporting countries on November 23 and is expected to hold talks with the Iranian leadership, the Kremlin's top foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov said.