Iran’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is not expected to attend his father’s funeral, an Iranian official and a Middle Eastern diplomat told NBC News.

Khamenei, 56, who was named as successor to his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in March, has not been seen in public or even issued an audio statement since the war began.

He was severely injured in the strike that killed his father at the start of the war, according to three people with knowledge of the matter, with burns to his face and body and wounds that have required several operations to one of his legs.

But the full extent of Khamenei’s injuries — and how they are affecting his ability to fulfill his duties — remains unknown, the people said.

Khamenei’s funeral began Friday with a visit to his casket by the heads of the three branches of the Iranian government, including Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who is also the lead negotiator in talks with the U.S., in video shown by state TV.

A number of visiting foreign dignitaries, including former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and delegations from China, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, India and Afghanistan, also visited the site, according to the official Islamic Republic News Agency.

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