  We report on a Chandra grating observation of the recently discovered hard
X-ray transient IGR J17497-2821. The observation took place about two weeks
after the source discovery at a flux level of about 20 mCrab in the 0.8-8 keV
range. We extracted the most precise X-ray position of IGR J17497-2821, RA=17
49 38.037, DEC= -28 21 17.37 (90% uncertainty of 0.6"). We also report on
optical and near infra-red photometric follow-up observations based on this
position. With the multi-wavelength information at hand, we discuss the
possible nature of the source proposing that IGR J17497-2821 is a low-mass
X-ray binary, most likely hosting a black hole, with a red giant K-type
companion.

Astrophysics