Iran says US tone has ‘modified’ as Washington seeks negotiations

Iran said on Saturday, October 31, mentioned that the diplomatic tone of the United States has “completely changed” as Washington seeks to revive formal negotiations with Tehran.

 While the U.S. and Israel have maintained navy threats, U.S. Vice President JD Vance transmitted a letter to Iranian officers in latest days aimed toward restarting diplomatic talks.

“I read the letter. I haven’t yet responded. Their tone has completely changed,” Mohsen Rezaei, the pinnacle of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, mentioned throughout a televised broadcast on Iranian state tv.

 Rezaei characterised the shift in rhetoric as a optimistic improvement, asserting it demonstrated that Iran had “consolidated its victory”.

He famous that he has not despatched a proper reply to Washington and declined to offer additional particulars relating to the contents of the letter.

 The developments coincide with ongoing oblique mediation efforts led by Qatar. However, Iranian officers reiterated earlier on Saturday that they presently don’t have any plans for direct bilateral conferences with U.S. representatives.

For seven lengthy years, Chika Ekezie lived within the shadowy grip of self-denial. Battling recurring bouts of fever, pneumonia, evening sweats, and fast weight reduction, the Imo State native routinely disregarded his deteriorating well being, counting on fast over-the-counter fixes from native pharmacies fairly than looking for correct medical prognosis.

When he lastly visited a hospital, the prognosis hit him arduous: he was residing with HIV.

Looking again in an interviewwith Punch Newspaper, Ekezie candidly separates his previous selections into carelessness and recklessness. While his carelessness lay in ignoring clear warning indicators from his physique, his recklessness stemmed from a promiscuous way of life with a number of sexual companions.

Yet, as Ekezie quickly found, the virus itself was not his heaviest burden, it was the crushing weight of public stigma.

At the time of his prognosis, Ekezie was working for {a magazine} publishing agency in Lagos. Noticing his frequent diseases, his employers provided to pay for a medical checkup at a beneficial clinic.

Because the corporate funded the analysis, Ekezie handed his take a look at outcomes to administration round 10:00 a.m. By 4:00 p.m. that very same afternoon, he was abruptly handed his strolling papers underneath the guise that the agency was “renovating its premises.”

Devastated, he boarded an in a single day bus to Abuja that very night. But the information traveled quicker than he did. The colleague who had initially beneficial him for the job shared his standing with others, setting off a series response of gossip. By the time Ekezie stepped off the bus in Abuja, his household and neighborhood already knew.

The hostility was swift and unrelenting. In his hometown, church members ostracized his late mom, holding committee conferences behind her again. Customers boycotted his brother’s tailor store, demanding their garments again. Cousins lower ties, and shut acquaintances started treating him like an entire stranger.

“Stigma hurts most when it comes from people and places where you expect to find support. The church, hospital, and home can all become sources of stigma. It can come from family members, doctors, nurses, pastors, and fellow church members. I had to stop going to church at some point because the stigma became too much.”

Without remedy or a powerful assist system, Ekezie spent seven years refusing antiretroviral remedy. He prevented dedicated romantic relationships, preferring paid encounters out of shyness and deep denial.

Eventually, a sobering realization compelled him to look within the mirror.

“I had to look at myself in the mirror and say, ‘Chika, now that you have HIV and are not on medication, if you are going to have sex, it is not just about the people you could put at risk. You are also putting yourself at risk.’ I realized I needed to take responsibility for my health, start treatment, and become more careful.”

His true turning level got here throughout an emergency hospital admission after years of non-adherence to remedy. While mendacity in a hospital mattress, Ekezie stumbled throughout a video on TikTookay explaining that untreated HIV sometimes progresses to AIDS inside 5 to eight years.

Convinced his time was working out, he determined to make use of no matter days he had left to talk out and assist others.

“I thought, ‘If I am going to die, let me not die empty. Let me know that I helped a lot of people.’ I did not start speaking publicly because I wanted to save people. I genuinely thought my time was almost up and wanted to make a difference before I died.”

A viewer moved by his early posts inspired him to offer medical remedy one other probability. Ekezie agreed, and every little thing modified.

In Nigeria, HIV antiretroviral remedy (ART) is supplied freed from cost. Within lower than a 12 months of constant remedy, Ekezie achieved an undetectable viral load.

“Being undetectable means that the amount of HIV in my body has been reduced to a level that cannot be detected by a standard viral load test. When someone living with HIV takes medication consistently and maintains an undetectable viral load, they cannot sexually transmit HIV to another person. Knowing that… gives me peace of mind.”

His bodily well being reworked quickly; he regained wholesome weight, his pores and skin cleared, and his power returned. In November 2024, Ekezie formally stepped into the general public highlight as an open advocate, utilizing social media and media appearances to dismantle dangerous myths surrounding the situation.

Ekezie constantly battles two widespread societal misconceptions: that HIV is an automated demise sentence, and {that a} optimistic prognosis marks the top of 1’s private {and professional} potential.

“People living with HIV can be bankers, chief executives, politicians, senior professionals, and pastors. Having HIV does not mean your life has ended. Unfortunately, images used to represent people living with HIV often show them looking extremely thin, weak, and sick… That is why I live openly on social media. I want people to understand that someone living with HIV can look healthy and lead a fulfilling life with proper treatment.”

To anybody receiving a brand new prognosis right now, Ekezie presents a message grounded in his personal nine-year journey from secrecy to power:

“Do not allow HIV to define your life. Take your medication, remain on treatment, and allow yourself to live fully. HIV does not have to determine your future. You have what it takes to make the best of your life.”