An Iranian warship entered the Red Sea on Monday raising tension in the busy shipping lane a day after a US Navy vessel sank three Yemeni vessels reportedly attacking a container ship, killing 10 Houthi fighters.

The Alborz warship entered through the strategic Bab al-Mandeb strait, Tasnim News Agency reported Monday.

The agency did not give specific reasons for its deployment, but noted that Iranian military vessels had operated in the area since 2009.

The Alborz's entry in the sea lane was also timed when Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen intensified attacks on Israel-bound commercial ships in their support for Hamas terrorists fighting Israeli forces in Gaza Strip.

On Sunday, Yemen boats with alleged Houthi fighters tried to board the Maersk Hangzhou which sent a distress call alerting the US-led naval force protecting commercial vessels in the area.

US Navy helicopters fired on Houthi rebels attempting to board the cargo ship off Yemen, with the rebels reporting 10 fighters dead or missing.

The USS Gravely also shot down two anti-ship missiles fired at the Maersk Hangzhou, Al Jazeera reported.

The US previously accused Iran of being "deeply involved" in the Houthi attacks.

Iran has denied such accusations saying the Houthi rebels were acting on their own.

Meanwhile, the US aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, deployed to the eastern Mediterranean after the deadly attack on Israel by Hamas on 7 October, will return to the US "in the coming days," the Navy said Monday.

Sent to "contribute to our regional deterrence and defense posture," the carrier will "redeploy to its home port as scheduled to prepare for future deployments," the Navy said in a statement.