Iran’s IRNA news agency said on Saturday that after progress in indirect discussions, negotiations have begun between the United States and Iran.

The country’s state-run news agency said three-party talks with the U.S., Iran and Pakistan had begun after a reduction in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon and other preconditions being met.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

ISLAMABAD (AP) — U.S. and Iranian officials held separate talks with Pakistan’s prime minister on Saturday amid a ceasefire made fragile by deep disagreements and unabated fighting in Lebanon.

A U.S. delegation led by Vice President JD Vance and an Iranian delegation led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf each met with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, according to his office. No direct U.S.-Iran talks had been announced as of mid-afternoon.

Iran doubled down on parts of its earlier proposal, with its delegation telling Iranian state television it had presented some of the plan’s ideas as red lines in meetings with Sharif.

Meanwhile, Israel pressed ahead with strikes in Lebanon even as Iran conditioned ceasefire talks on a pause in fighting there. The Lebanese state-run news agency reported that Israeli strikes on Saturday killed at least three people.

The war has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, 1,953 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. It has largely cut off the Persian Gulf from the global economy, sending energy prices soaring and inflicting lasting damage on infrastructure in half a dozen countries in the region.

In Tehran, residents told The Associated Press they were skeptical yet hopeful about the talks after weeks of airstrikes carved a path of destruction across their country. Some said even if one is reached, the path to recovery will be long.

“Peace alone is not enough for our country, because we’ve been hit very hard, there have been huge costs, and the people have to pay for that,” 62-year-old Amir Razzai Far said in downtown Tehran.