Lebanon's PM Hariri: U.S. sanctions will not affect government's work

BEIRUT - Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri said on Wednesday that U.S. sanctions targeting Hezbollah lawmakers for the first time marked "a new direction" but would not affect the work of parliament or government.

"It is a new matter that we will deal with as we see fit," he said in a statement from his office. "The important thing is to preserve the banking sector and the Lebanese economy and, God willing, this crisis will pass sooner or later," he said.