In a "rare" incident.. An Iranian accused of "participating in a $3 billion hacking operation" will appear before U.S. courts.. What is the story?

- The police in Montenegro and a source familiar with the case announced on Thursday the extradition of an Iranian citizen - accused of participating in a hacking scheme to steal data from more than 150 American universities and companies worth over $3 billion - to the United States to face criminal charges. Amir Barati (40 years old) is expected to face charges related to electronic communications fraud and computer fraud in the federal court for the Southern District of New York, where he and 16 other Iranian citizens have been indicted under a revised indictment in August.

Montenegro police had arrested Barati - who also holds Turkish citizenship - in June at the request of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Barati's extradition is seen as positive news for U.S. law enforcement agencies in their efforts to curb Iranian cyber capabilities amid the ongoing conflict between the United States and Iran; Iranian hackers rarely appear in U.S. courts.

Barati and the other defendants are accused of participating in a years-long campaign - which began in 2013 - to steal data from universities and companies around the world, having hacked approximately 8,000 email accounts belonging to university professors in the United States, Europe, and other regions. According to the indictment, the cost of "obtaining and accessing" the academic data and intellectual property targeted by the hackers amounted to about $3.4 billion for American universities.

The Afaq News network was unable to reach an attorney representing Barati. The list of companies allegedly victimized by these attacks includes HBO, a subsidiary of Warner Brothers Discovery, the parent company of Afaq News.

U.S. court documents indicate that Barati helped track the path of the hacking operations targeting universities and contributed to preparing "targeting lists" for the private sector. According to the Department of Justice, the list of private American companies that were hacked included 11 technology companies and two defense contractors.

It is also alleged that other members of the conspiracy network - apart from Barati - hacked into the systems of the Department of Labor, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the United Nations. Prosecutors stated that many of these hacks were carried out on behalf of the Iranian "Revolutionary Guard."

A spokesperson for the Southern District of New York's Attorney's Office declined to comment on the matter of Barati's extradition on Thursday. Iran's significant cyber capabilities have provided Tehran with a means to threaten the critical infrastructure of the United States during the seven months of war with the U.S. and Israel.

Throughout that period, Iran has been accused of being a primary suspect in cyberattacks targeting American water systems, fuel station tank level reading devices, a major medical device manufacturing company, as well as the email account of FBI Director Kash Patel.