President Hassan Rouhani says: “If the government is not strong, people will not have a happy life. The government’s power and capability depend on having the necessary authority in managing the country, otherwise, you can’t hold a government responsible when it has no authority.”

In a speech on Wednesday, Rouhani emphasized: “We use all the political and diplomatic measures. But our power and capabilities, even in negotiations, are from the people; if the people and government are one, it will lead to a powerful government that will succeed in negotiations.”

Rouhani’s comments come after receiving backlash for saying he would be willing to “meet with anyone if it would help the country prosper and resolve people’s problems” three days ago.

He added: “In hard times, the authorities must be even nicer to people.

Rouhani also referred to the recent meeting of his cabinet with the leader of the Islamic Republic Ali Khamenei, in which Khamenei said: “The government is in the middle of the battlefield and carrying the load of responsibility, and everyone should help the government.”

“Today’s problems are different, and an economic, psychological, and political war has been forced upon the country, and we must finish this war with victory over the aggressor. And it is not just possible, but based on the history of the Iranian people and God’s promises, it is certain,” President Rouhani added.

Rouhani also criticized the recent arrests of government officials for financial corruption and embezzlement, saying: “Monitoring branch (Judiciary) has made some mistakes and we hope these mistakes are fixed. The Judiciary must help the government, and that doesn’t mean interference. The biggest mistake in the country is to mistake interference with monitoring.”

He continued: “Even in war, there is monitoring so that if a mistake is made, they can review it, but if they interfere from the beginning, you cannot command the battle and design plans.”

“If people start to think that the Judiciary is political, that is the end of Judiciary and its legitimacy. I hope that is not the case,” Rouhani said.