Iranian President Hassan Rouhani appeared before parliament to face fiery speeches and answer five questions from lawmakers amid his administration's continued struggle to grapple with numerous challenges both at home and abroad.

The long-anticipated faceoff between the president and his opponents in parliament took place Aug. 28. The so-called questioning motion revolved around five key issues: failure to tackle smuggling of goods and hard currency; continuation of banking sanctions; persistently high unemployment; slow economic growth; and the devaluation of the national currency. Of note, a questioning motion is not equivalent to an impeachment motion, which at present is not on the table and involves a different process.

At the podium in parliament, Rouhani did not sound as calm as he characteristically does. Neither were his outspoken critics. Debates over the five issues continued for hours, and Rouhani was given a second chance to take the stage and defend his administration's performance.

Under parliament regulations, each of the five questioning session ends with a vote; the criterion is whether parliament members have been convinced by the president's responses. But the president seems to have done little to calm lawmakers, who were convinced by only one among five of Rouhani's answers, and for that one — regarding banking sanctions — he only narrowly won their favor.