France, Germany and Britain have set up the mechanism in an effort to circumvent U.S. sanctions on Iran, though diplomats say it is unlikely to yield the big commercial transactions that Tehran says it needs to keep a 2015 nuclear deal afloat.
"Central questions ... are still open," said Stefan Mair, member of the BDI leadership team. "The clearing office is still reliant on sanctioned Iranian oil and gas business, so that substantial risks remain for a longer-term trade relations."
(Reporting by Riham Alkousaa; Editing by Andrea Shalal)
