The iminophosphorane 3, prepared by reaction of ethyl 4-amino-5-cyano-1-phenyl-1H-pyrrole-3-carboxylate (2) with triphenylphosphine, hexachloroethane and triethylamine, reacted with equimolar quantities of aromatic isocyanates to give carbodiimides 4. Further reaction of carbodiimides 4 with various amines or phenols then gave 2,3,6,7-tetrasubstituted 4,6-dihydro-4-oxo-3H-pyrrolo[3,4-d]pyrimidin-7-carbonitrile derivatives 6 in satisfactory yields in the presence of a catalytic amount of sodium ethoxide or potassium carbonate.