Iran's President Hassan Rouhani defended his economic record in a press conference on Monday, just over a month before the country votes in a presidential election. Rouhani pushed back against criticism from conservatives over his economic performance. He said he had made measurable achievements in agriculture, healthcare, energy and internet coverage in poor suburbs. 

The Iranian president is expected to run for a second term on May 19, but has not yet officially announced his candidacy. Registration for the election begins on Tuesday and will continue until Saturday. 

In March, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that the government's economic policies have fallen short and that Iran needs a new "resistance economy" to create jobs, comments aimed at Rohani's policy of seeking to open Iran to more international trade and investment. The remarks of Khamenei have piled pressure on the president ahead of the election in May.