Question: What sea does the country where 66 citizens the Bush administration described as heroic were held hostage for 444 days in the late 1970s share a northern border with?

Iran lies between latitudes 24° and 40° N, and longitudes 44° and 64° E. Its borders are with Azerbaijan (611 km or 380 mi, with Azerbaijan-Naxcivan exclave, 179 km or 111 mi) and Armenia (35 km or 22 mi) to the north-west; the Caspian Sea to the north; Turkmenistan (992 km or 616 mi) to the north-east; Pakistan (909 km or 565 mi) and Afghanistan (936 km or 582 mi) to the east; Turkey (499 km or 310 mi) and Iraq (1,458 km or 906 mi) to the west; and finally the waters of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman to the south. Iran has an area of 1,648,195 km2 (636,372 sq mi). <SEP> the first debate was held on september 30 at the university of miami, moderated by jim lehrer of pbs. during the debate, slated to focus on foreign policy, kerry accused bush of having failed to gain international support for the 2003 invasion of iraq, saying the only countries assisting the u.s. during the invasion were the united kingdom and australia. bush replied to this by saying, "well, actually, he forgot poland." later, a consensus formed among mainstream pollsters and pundits that kerry won the debate decisively, strengthening what had come to be seen as a weak and troubled campaign. in the days after, coverage focused on bush's apparent annoyance with kerry and numerous scowls and negative facial expressions. <SEP> Americans, in contrast, were described as brave, loving, generous, strong, resourceful, heroic, and respectful of human rights. Because the actions involved in the "war on terrorism" are diffuse, and the criteria for inclusion are unclear, political theorist Richard Jackson has argued that "the 'war on terrorism' therefore, is simultaneously a set of actual practices—wars, covert operations, agencies, and institutions—and an accompanying series of assumptions, beliefs, justifications, and narratives—it is an entire language or discourse." Jackson cites among many examples a statement by John Ashcroft that "the attacks of September 11 drew a bright line of demarcation between the civil and the savage". Administration officials also described "terrorists" as hateful, treacherous, barbarous, mad, twisted, perverted, without faith, parasitical, inhuman, and, most commonly, evil. <SEP> on november 4, 1979, a group of students seized the united states embassy and took the embassy with 52 personnel and citizens hostage, after the united states refused to return mohammad reza pahlavi to iran to face trial in the court of the new regime. attempts by the jimmy carter administration to negotiate for the release of the hostages, and a failed rescue attempt, helped force carter out of office and brought ronald reagan to power. on jimmy carter's final day in office, the last hostages were finally set free as a result of the algiers accords. <SEP> Fifty - two American diplomats and citizens were held hostage for 444 days from November 4, 1979, to January 20, 1981, after a group of Iranian college students belonging to the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line, who supported the Iranian Revolution, took over the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. It stands as the longest hostage crisis in recorded history. The Iran hostage crisis was a diplomatic standoff between Iran and the United States of America.