July 20 (Reuters) - Major Gulf stock markets were mixed at the start of trading on Monday, amid an escalation in the Middle East at the weekend and the United States launching attacks on Iran for the ninth night in a row.

Kuwait and Bahrain reported new Iranian attacks. The US Embassy in Manama warned that Iran might target unspecified locations in the Bahraini capital and urged Americans to exercise caution.

The Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry condemned what it described as an Iranian attack on an electricity and water desalination facility.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said on Monday that two oil tankers were hit by explosions and stopped sailing after attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz through what it described as an unsafe southern passage, adding that the US military encouraged them to use this passage.

The index in Dubai fell by one percent, affected by a 1.3 percent decline in the leading real estate stock Emaar and a 2.3 percent drop in Air Arabia's stock.

The index in Abu Dhabi fell 0.8 percent, with shares of Alfazbi Holding dropping 1 percent.

The index in Saudi Arabia rose 0.1 percent, supported by a 0.4 percent increase in Aramco shares.

Brent crude futures rose $2.77, or 3.14 percent, to $90.87 by 0612 GMT, reaching their highest level since June 11.

Since the start of the war, Saudi Arabia has diverted more than 70 percent of its usual daily crude oil exports to the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea. Shipments from Yanbu have averaged four million barrels per day in recent weeks, compared to about 973,000 barrels per day a year ago.

The index in Qatar rose 0.2 percent, recovering some of its losses after falling 1.5 percent in the previous session, supported by a 0.4 percent rise in shares of Qatar National Bank.