In this paper, we present a new method for iris identification particularly convenient for visible light images. It relies on the use of packets of wavelets [Texture Classification by Wavelet Packet Signatures] for the production of an iris code. Experiments, conducted on a database of 700 iris images, acquired with visible light illumination, show an improvement of 2% of FAR and of around 11.5% of FRR with the proposed method relatively to the classical wavelet method [High confidence recognition of persons by rapid video analysis of iris texture]. The contribution of colour information is also studied with such method.