Abu Dhabi: The UAE has rejected any attempt to impose transit fees on vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz, as Arab states and the United States intensified diplomatic efforts at the United Nations to safeguard freedom of navigation in one of the world’s most strategically vital waterways. Speaking during a media briefing in New York on a joint Gulf-US draft resolution at the UN concerning the Strait of Hormuz, Mohamed Abushahab, Permanent Representative of the UAE to the United Nations, said the UAE opposed the imposition of any charges on ships transiting the strait. “We reject the imposition of any fees for passage through the Strait of Hormuz. These international maritime corridors must not be subjected to extortion,” he said. Abushahab accused Iran of laying mines and imposing transit fees in the waterway, adding that Iranian threats and attacks in the Strait of Hormuz had continued unabated.…