Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Lebanese-based terrorist group Hezbollah, took responsibility on Monday for the explosive detonated on the Lebanese-Israeli border in mid-March.
The explosive was set off as an IDF jeep passed by, sending three soldiers to the hospital to be examined for shock from the blast.
In acknowledging Hezbollah was behind the attack, Nasrallah claimed the blast was revenge for an airstrike attributed to the IAF, which took place a week before the attack and prevented delivery of sophisticated missiles to the terror group.
"The Israelis understood the message very well. The story here is not about rules of the game, but rather about deterrence," said Nasrallah, speaking to the newspaper As Safir.
"This was not the reply, but this was part of the reply," claimed Nasrallah, saying the message to Israel was "you hit a military target and the resistance responded by hitting a military target."
After the airstrike Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu remained elusive about Israel's involvement. The strike reportedly killed four Hezbollah terrorists, and destroyed two trucks carrying missiles and a missile launcher to Hezbollah warehouses from Syria.
An unnamed Israeli official said the missiles were able to carry warheads heavier and more dangerous than almost all of Hezbollah's current massive arsenal.
Hezbollah sources told Lebanese TV later in the week of the attack that it had been a kidnapping attempt, saying that while the attempt failed “this time, we are sure we will succeed in the near future.” However, Hezbollah did not officially take credit until now.
"Israel won't start a war with us"
Nasrallah on Monday added that he felt confident Israel would not start a war with the Hezbollah terror group for its attacks. Israel in 2006 engaged in the Second Lebanon War after being bombarded by Hezbollah missiles.
"Based on military data and information on the ground on the one hand, and the political situation on the other, Israel will not go ahead with a war on Lebanon," the terror leader said. "The resistance in Lebanon, at the regional and international level, is in a better situation compared to the eve of the 2006 war."
"It is not easy for Israel to decide on a war in the region because of the possibilities and the nature of the battle that would result and what Israel could achieve and what losses it would suffer," claimed Nasrallah.
Just this Sunday, Nasrallah claimed that Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime is no longer in danger of falling to opposition forces. Hezbollah has been fighting for Assad in Syria and sustaining heavy losses; recent fighting for the key town of Yabroud left over 120 Hezbollah fighters dead.
Hezbollah has also been targeted by attacks in Lebanon since acknowledging that it was fighting for Assad in Syria.