Here are your Apple rumors and AAPL news items for today:

“Apple Stores” Flourish in Iran: Despite rising Persian Gulf tensions between the U.S. and Iran, iconic American brand Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) remains very popular with Iranians, Reuters reports. Apple products cannot be exported to Iran due to Washington’s trade sanctions against the Islamic Republic. However, Apple devices — including iPads and iPhones — have become status symbols among the country’s elite. Using underground trade routes, merchants import the products into Iran where they’re available at prices not far above those in the West. Iranian merchants have built fake Apple Stores, that look much like the real thing, and are doing a booming business.

Apple Enforces Samsung Ban: Not content to simply win a judgment against Samsung, Apple is contacting electronics resellers and wireless carriers to insist that they refrain from offering Samsung’s Galaxy Tab tablet and Galaxy Nexus smartphone, Apple Insider says. Cupertino has sent letters to various retailers demanding that they immediately remove the devices from their product offerings. Samsung has complained about Apple’s actions to the court, calling it “overreach.”

Microsoft Says Apple Has It All Wrong: At its Worldwide Partner Conference this week, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) COO Kevin Turner told attendees that, contrary to Apple’s view, the PC Era isn’t ending, TheVerge notes. Instead, Turner said, Microsoft believes in the “PC+” era in which tablets and smartphones complement personal computers rather than replace them. Microsoft indicated that it will seek to unite PCs and mobile devices with a unified operating system.

For more about the company, check out our previous Apple Rumors stories.