President Hassan Rouhani warned his conservative opponents that the whole establishment would be affected by any attempt to undermine the government.
"We should realize that any blow to the government is a blow to the establishment. Anyone who thinks that weakening the government would boost the system is wrong," Rouhani told a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, president.ir reported.
"We all are in the same boat and if part of the boat is damaged, it will sink entirely," he said.
The president has been under increasing pressure particularly since protests erupted in December over economic hardships and soon grew violent and spread to dozens of Iranian cities.
The demonstrations initially targeted Rouhani's economic performance but the slogans by some protestors later took on a rare political dimension to hit some non-government parts of the establishment too. They were put down a week later after the clashes between the rioters and security forces took 25 lives.
Beyond Economy
Rouhani's conservative opponents tried to promote his failure to make good on an electoral promise to revive the economy as the sole cause of the protests, but he later disputed that, saying the demonstrations were not just aimed at the economy.
In his Cabinet speech, the president said his critics are to blame for the slow pace of economic reforms.
They have opposed Rouhani's plans to reopen the Iranian market to foreign businesses, particularly the westerners, after crippling economic sanctions against the country were lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal with major powers, in return for temporary constraints on Tehran's nuclear program.
"Some people think they can speak on behalf of the people and only the administration has to be accountable. All the branches of government and institutions are responsible to the people and should be accountable to them and respect the Constitution," he said.
"Under the Constitution, it is the president who can question and warn and demand explanation."
Weeks before the protests, Rouhani submitted his proposed budget for the next fiscal year to parliament.
His budget plan had become the target of severe public criticism for allocating considerable amounts of funds to organizations affiliated with the conservative camp that lack financial transparency and never report to the public, amid urgent economic problems increasingly affecting the living standards of people."
