Iranian President Hassan Rouhani defended his record and fought back against criticism from candidates during presidential debates at a cabinet meeting in Tehran on Wednesday.

"In the presidential debates, it showed how efficient some organisations are. Thank God the judiciary, the legislative power, the armed forces and all of these organisations are flawless! There is only one flawed organisation and that is the government," Rouhani remarked sarcastically.

The president went on to question if other institutions such as the Iranian legislature and judiciary could not also be responsible for mistakes, stressing "thank God at least we figured out this election that every organisation in this country is so good and without corruption and flawless, and it is merely this government that is flawed and that is going to change after the election."

He also mocked candidates at the debate for seemingly sudden shows of support for young, female, and ethnic minority voters.

"Why were women not important before the election and are they merely important these days, what happened" he asked.

The president, who is term limited from seeking office again, also defended his government's record on the international stage.

"We, in the twelfth government, didn't let Trump win at any international assembly after he came out of the JCPOA," Rouhani emphasised, adding "we didn't let them win at any international assembly. We beat them."

Iran's presidential elections take place on June 18, with Iranian judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi, a close ally of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, widely considered the frontrunner out of the seven candidates in the race.