Iranian President Hassan Rouhani appeared before parliament on Aug. 28 to answer a series of questions posed by lawmakers about his administration’s performance. The summons — a first for Rouhani — left members of parliament unconvinced by Rouhani's answers about failed policies.

Lawmakers initially tabled the motion to question Rouhani on Aug. 1, thus giving him, according to the constitution, one month to appear before parliament and answer their questions. Rouhani responded to the summons on Aug. 5 in a letter addressed to parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani. In the letter, Rouhani said the summons neither kept with the constitution nor did it come at a suitable time.

In an interview broadcast on state television the same day, Rouhani appeared to warn members of parliament that he would divulge inconvenient secrets if grilled in parliament, saying, “It is difficult for me to discuss some topics during interviews or in a speech. However, if a parliamentarian asks me about it, I can be more explicit and retell some realities to the beloved people.”

With Rouhani warning members of parliament, and particularly the hard-liners, that he would reveal secrets, everyone was waiting to see what he would say in parliament. Finally, on Aug. 28, the president attended a special session of parliament to address the parliamentarians' questions, which were generally related to his economic policies. However, once at the podium, Rouhani practically repeated the same things he has always said while defending his administration’s attempts to overcome problems and propose solutions. Nothing new or untold could be found in his remarks. Afterward, parliament held a vote to determine their satisfaction with Rouhani's answers to their questions. Members of parliament voted that Rouhani answered only one out of five questions in a satisfactory way.