Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne has called for a process of "de-escalation" in the Middle East amid widespread protests in Iran after the country's military admitted shooting down a Ukrainian airliner.

An Australian navy warship has set sail for the Persian Gulf to keep shipping safe for the next six months in the tense Strait of Hormuz that passes by Iran.

HMAS Toowoomba will be sent to the Persian Gulf amid heightened tensions in the Middle East. Credit:Royal Australian Navy

Protests have erupted throughout Iran in recent days with demonstrators calling on its senior leaders to resign over their initial denials that it shot down the passenger plane carrying 176 people.

Tensions between the US and Iran have sharply escalated this year since a targeted American drone strike in Iraq killed prominent Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani and Tehran responded with missile strikes on US targets in Iraq.