Standing through the sunroof of his car, surrounded by angry local residents, Mr. Rouhani also talked about the Imam Khomeini hospital, where the old and the new had stood side by side before the tremor struck.

“Look, there are two buildings: One of the buildings, which was constructed by government contractors, and you can see the other building built by people, by individuals, and they still stand,” he said. “We should find the culprits and people are waiting for us to introduce the culprits. We will do that, we will do that.”

Housing and other projects for the disadvantaged have been built nationwide and represent just a fraction of construction involving the state. Outside Tehran, in the city of Boomehen, around 40 high rises have been erected on the flanks of a mountain, vexed by all sorts of construction issues. Analysts say the root problem is widespread corruption.

“State institutions tasked with fighting corruption are themselves corrupted,” said Saeed Laylaz, an economist who supports Mr. Rouhani’s government. “There is no short-term remedy.”

He also pointed out how the government had systematically not paid contractors for their jobs, instead giving them i.o.u.’s that quickly lost half their worth. “Naturally next time they get a job they try to cheat wherever they can,” Mr. Laylaz said.