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Story highlights Netanyahu says third option is "standing firm" to get a better deal Political sparring continues in U.S. over the deal with Iran

"I think there's a third alternative, and that is standing firm, ratcheting up the pressure until you get a better deal," Netanyahu told CNN's Jim Acosta Sunday on "State of the Union."

His comments come as Democrats and Republicans spar over the framework announced last week to lift Western sanctions on Iran in exchange for the country dropping from 19,000 to 5,060 active centrifuges, limiting its highly enriched uranium, and increasing inspections.

President Barack Obama endorsed the deal, saying it was better than the alternatives. But GOP contenders for the party's 2016 presidential nomination lambasted it, saying it gave Iran too much flexibility.

On Sunday, the sparring continued. One Senate Democrat said Netanyahu needs to "contain himself." And a top Republican said almost any of Obama's successors as president "could do better."

Netanyahu's most recent argument against the Iran nuclear deal was similar to the one he'd made in a March trip to Washington, when he addressed a joint session of Congress -- fueling a Republican push to have the deal sent to Congress before it's implemented.

"It does not roll back Iran's nuclear program. It keeps a vast nuclear infrastructure in place. Not a single centrifuge is destroyed. Not a single nuclear facility is shut down, including the underground facilities that they built illicitly. Thousands of centrifuges will keep spinning, enriching uranium," Netanyahu said Sunday. "That's a very bad deal. "

Netanyahu said Iran is a country of "congenital cheating" and that it can't be trusted to abide by the terms of the deal, which lasts 10 years with some provisions extending well beyond that.

He said his opposition has little to do with his frosty relationship with Obama.

"I think that we can have a legitimate difference of opinion on this, because I think Iran has shown to be completely distrustful," Netanyahu said.

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Netanyahu: More Iran options than 'this bad deal or war ...